In a bid to provide better public transportation services, state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) and city-owned transportation company PT MRT Jakarta have signed an agreement on the establishment of a joint venture company to manage transportation in Greater Jakarta.

The agreement was signed by KAI president director Edi Sukmoro and MRT Jakarta president director William Sabandar at City Hall, Central Jakarta, on Monday and witnessed by Deputy State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Kartika Wirjoatmodjo and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

Earlier this year, central government officials announced that public transportation in Greater Jakarta would be managed under one authority led by the Jakarta administration. The entity will manage public transportation-related aspects, including fares and routes.

The joint venture company will be 51 percent owned by MRT Jakarta and 49 percent by KAI, the parent company of commuter line operator PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia and airport train operator PT Railink.

“The SOE [KAI] is fully committed to supporting the integration of transportation in Jakarta,” Kartika said after the signing.

The joint venture firm will manage all railway stations and develop transit-oriented-development (TOD) planning at designated stations.

“With cooperation in managing stations and TOD, hopefully Jakarta residents will be more interested in using public transportation within two or three years,” he added.

Speaking on the same occasion, Anies said the joint venture should improve the convenience of using public transportation, of which 1 million passengers use railway-based transportation and 980,000 use wheeled vehicles.

Kartika said the joint venture company had yet to be named, but it was expected to be fully operational after a month of institutional preparation.

“[Also] one month [preparation] for capital injection,” he said. “We will conduct a study on TOD immediately after.”

William chimed in by saying the joint venture would spend its first three months preparing for integrated transportation and TOD management planning in the capital.

“We should see real results in the third and fourth quarters of next year,” he said.

William emphasized that integration would include connecting transportation infrastructure.

Integration will not be limited to infrastructure, but also to ticketing, he added. The firm will conduct a study on the implementation of an integrated electronic fare collection (EFC) system for public transportation modes in the capital.

MRT Jakarta recently received a permit from Bank Indonesia to issue its own multi-trip tickets. The tickets will be valid for all modes of public transportation in Jakarta by 2022.

As a priority, however, Jakarta Transportation Agency head Syafrin Liputo said the firm would manage several stations considered the most hectic, such as Tanah Abang, Senen, Gondangdia and Juanda, during its early periods of operation.

“Tanah Abang is congested with ride-hailing drivers, so that’s what we will arrange first,” he told reporters after the signing of the agreement.

Greater Jakarta daily passenger numbers increased exponentially from 47.5 million in 2015 to 88 million in 2018. (sau/hpw)