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Transjakarta upbeat despite growing popularity of ride-hailing services
Even though online ride-hailing services are on the rise with about 2.5 million drivers in the Greater Jakarta area, Yoga Adiwinarto, the acting president director of the city-owned bus operator, said he was not worried that the business would affect the number of people using Transjakarta services.
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Police stop a motorcyclist for riding in the dedicated Transjakarta bus lane on Jl. Sultan Agung in Manggarai, South Jakarta, on Feb. 6. (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
W
ith the rising popularity of ride-hailing apps, travelling anywhere in the capital city is as easy as tapping a finger on a mobile phone. The thriving ride-hailing app business raises questions about whether it will threaten the city’s bus rapid transit (BRT) service, Transjakarta.
Febe, a 24 year old office worker from West Jakarta said she chose to commute with a ride hailing app every day even though there was a Transjakarta bus stop near her office in central Jakarta.
“I use a ride-hailing app to commute to work because it is fast and convenient. I’ve tried using Transjakarta buses to go to work before, but the journey took quite a long time,” she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Febe said it took between 30 minutes and an hour to commute to work using a ride-hailing application like Gojek or Grab, but it took between 1.5 and 2 hours if she used Transjakarta buses.
“The traffic jam during rush hour is very bad. I have to wake up really early if I want to commute using Transjakarta buses, so it’s very inconvenient,” she said.
She said she also preferred using a ride-hailing app because it made her journey much less tiring. She said she needed to walk about 500 meters from her house to get on an angkot (public minivan) to reach the nearest Transjakarta bus stop. After getting off of the bus she needed to walk another 500 meters to get to her office.
“I think it’s better to spend a little bit more money so that I don’t feel as tired when I arrive at the office and when I come home,” she said.
