Dion Hamdani, 46, a resident of housing and office area BSD City, Serpong, South Tangerang, owns a retail paint shop on Jl. Raya Ciater. He uses his motorcycle to go to his shop and uses his car to get around the area and the neighboring city of Tangerang.

If he has errands to do in Jakarta, he usually takes the Trans BSD bus toward Senayan, Central Jakarta, or the Commuter Line train toward Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta.

“For South Tangerang residents, public transportation is still lacking, especially the numbers of angkot [public minivan],” Dion told The Jakarta Post on Sunday, adding that local residents preferred buses run by Jakarta-owned Transjakarta or the Commuter Line trains operated by state-owned PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI).

He said there should be more reliable public transportation like Transjakarta in the satellite city. The existing modes of transportation, such as angkot, were still lacking. Drivers still practiced ngetem (stopping to wait for passengers until the vehicle is full).

M. Noordhani, whose parents’ house is in Pamulang, South Tangerang, but who works at a private company in Tebet, South Jakarta, rents a room in a boarding house in Tebet to avoid the long commute from home to work.

“I used to commute from South Tangerang to Tebet. But I’ve recently moved to Tebet to cut down on the commute time because it can take up to two hours,” Noordhani said.

Previously, Noordhani would ride his motorcycle from Pamulang to Jurangmangu Station, where he would take the Commuter Line to Manggarai Station, South Jakarta. He would continue his journey on a Transjakarta bus.

After the opening of the Jakarta subway in March, Noordhani tried taking the MRT from Lebak Bulus Station, South Jakarta, to Bendungan Hilir Station, Central Jakarta. “But it’s the same anyway [the time and energy spent],” he said.

Within South Tangerang, he prefers using his motorcycle as there are not yet buses “as good as Transjakarta”. He does not like using cars or angkot because both usually get stuck in traffic.

To reach Jakarta from South Tangerang, commuters have choices, including the Commuter Line Tanah Abang Green Line, the regular Transjakarta S11 line serving Giant BSD to Jelambar via the Jakarta Tangerang toll road or the premium Royaltrans S31 bus serving Bintaro Xchange to Blok M MRT Station, the S12 BSD Giant to Fatmawati MRT Station or other intercity and interprovincial buses.

But it is more complicated to get around South Tangerang because the city has yet to establish its own public transportation. According to the South Tangerang Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda South Tangerang), there are 34 active angkot routes. These routes have existed since the city was part of Tangerang regency.

Elisabeth, 64, a retiree who lives in Ciater, Serpong, still regularly takes angkot and lately the BSD Link bus, provided by BSD City developer Sinar Mas Land, to get around South Tangerang.

She said the current public transportation was good enough for her, although not without fault.

“Around the BSD area there are still a lot of angkot, although they don’t operate until late at night,” she said, adding that she disliked the long ngetem time taken by angkot drivers.

Private developer Sinar Mas Land provides the BSD Link for free. However, its six daily routes mainly connect destinations within the modern part of the city, such as the Sinar Mas Land Plaza, The Breeze, Aeon, ICE Vanya Park, Greenwich Park and De Park.

According to Sinar Mas Land corporate communication and public affairs division head Panji Himawan, since mid 2018, the BSD Link has served 71,000 daily passengers.

The company also operates the Intermoda Terminal in Cisauk Station for its buses.

The South Tangerang administration itself tried to establish a bus service called the Trans Anggrek Circle Line in 2015, with buses operating from Pondok Cabe Bus Terminal to Rawa Buntu train station.

However, on Sunday afternoon, the buses were no longer seen around Rawa Buntu Station.

Organda South Tangerang head Yusron Siregar said there were still about 2,000 angkot operating in the city.

“Their number has decreased because some only operate in the morning and others in the afternoon,” Yusron told the Post on Monday.

He said that angkot drivers, who mostly operate alone as they personally own their minivans, face dwindling ridership because of competition from online motorcycle taxis and larger buses such as Transjakarta.

Yusron said the administration had not addressed angkot after South Tangerang’s establishment as a new city in 2008.

“We wish there was more attention paid to us by the administration. If they want public transportation, then should involve us in it,” Yusron said.

South Tangerang Transportation Agency head Purnama Wijaya did not respond to a request for comment.

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