In an effort to facilitate seamless commutes in the city, Jakarta-owned transportation company PT MRT Jakarta, the operator of the country’s first subway system, expected to become the backbone of public transportation in the capital, will establish two new subsidiaries and a joint venture to develop an integrated public transportation system.

MRT Jakarta president director William Sabandar said the two new subsidiaries would focus on developing supporting facilities and transit-oriented development (TOD) projects, a concept that integrates residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transportation.

The planned joint venture will involve MRT Jakarta and city-owned companies Transjakarta and Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro). It focuses on integrating the ticketing system of the MRT, the LRT, Transjakarta and angkot (public minivans) operated under the Jak Lingko network.

“We hope that the subsidiaries and the joint venture can be established this year to ensure that we are seamlessly integrating public transportation and ticketing systems,” William said recently.

The TOD subsidiary, which is expected to be in business by the second quarter this year, will cooperate with property developers and other institutions willing to invest in the project, according to William.

It will be followed by the other subsidiary, which will begin developing supporting facilities by the third quarter this year, before the joint venture starts building the integrated ticketing system by the end of this year.

Former Jakarta governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat issued in 2017 a gubernatorial decree appointing MRT Jakarta the TOD operator in the city. However, the lack of details about its specific tasks as a TOD operator hampered the company’s measures to develop TOD projects, prompting Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to revise the decree recently.

MRT Jakarta is currently waiting for the enactment of another decree on urban design guidelines for the planned TOD projects, a regulation expected to expand its authority in public transit planning.

“For instance, [the decree will] give recommendations on the distribution of the floor area ratio. With clearer authority, we will be able to encourage commercial cooperation with developers,” William said.

MRT Jakarta has proposed the development of TOD at five of the 13 existing MRT stations: Dukuh Atas, Istora-Senayan, Fatmawati, Lebak Bulus and Blok M-ASEAN stations.

“During the development of the second phase of MRT Jakarta, we will also work on TOD projects in other locations. That’s why we need a subsidiary that is separated from the company’s business core,” William said.

City-owned company supervisory board BP BUMD head Faisal Syafruddin was optimistic that the decree would be issued soon.

Last month, MRT Jakarta established another joint venture with state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), called PT Moda Integrasi Transportasi Jabodetabek (MITJ), to manage and integrate a vast network of public transit in Greater Jakarta. The integration will include Transjakarta, the Jakarta MRT, the Jakarta LRT, the Greater Jakarta LRT and commuter line services.

MITJ president director Tuhiyat said the company, in a collaboration with private consultants, is now conducting two feasibility studies on the integration of railway-based transportation in Greater Jakarta and on TOD development around a number of stations on the commuter line throughout Greater Jakarta. The two assessments are expected to be completed by the end of this year.

“The studies will include not only physical integration but also institutional [integration] and other aspects,” Tuhiyat said on Thursday.

MITJ is also in charge of arranging four commuter line stations in Tanah Abang, Sudirman, Senen and Juanda as a pilot project to provide necessary data for the two assessments.

“The arrangement of the existing four stations will strongly support the studies. Land within a particular radius will then be utilized for TOD in the future,” Tuhiyat said.

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