The city administration’s proposal to open a TransJakarta bus rapid transit (BRT) route to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport continues to gain traction with support from the central government, which has responded to public criticism over its planned limited service by revealing that the new route would eventually be open to the public.

“We’ve communicated to [city-owned BRT operator] TransJakarta that there will be no restriction, that the route won’t be limited to those with an airport employee card,” Muhammad Awaluddin, president director of state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II), told reporters on Monday.

As the service would still prioritize airport personnel, however, Awaluddin said the proposed route would operate from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. each day. While the airport was open 24 hours, the route’s operational hours matched the times shift handovers typically took place among airport employees, he added.

It was during a meeting on May 28 with interim Jakarta governor Heru Budi Hartono and Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi that Awaluddin first proposed the idea of expanding the TransJakarta BRT service to the capital’s international hub airport in Tangerang, Banten.

As Soekarno-Hatta had around 50,000 personnel all told, Awaluddin said that opening a dedicated TransJakarta route would provide airport workers with an affordable transportation option.

The Jakarta administration voiced its support for the proposal, with Heru saying: “We support the idea to [improve public transit access for the airport], including by extending the TransJakarta bus service to accommodate workers at the airport.”

Despite the city’s blessing, the proposal drew heavy criticism on social media over its initial plan to limit the route’s services for transporting only airport personnel as outlined last week by Jakarta Transportation Agency chief Syafrin Liputo.

Syafrin added that the planned route would not be stopping at the airport’s terminals.

Critics have said that if AP II wanted to accommodate only its employees, it should finance its own shuttle bus service instead of relying on TransJakarta, which was funded in part by taxpayers.

Public transportation options connecting Jakarta and the airport are presently limited to the Railink airport train service operated by state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) and a shuttle bus service operated by state-owned bus company DAMRI.

Neither of these options is exactly affordable relative to TransJakarta’s flat rate of 3,500, with one-way trips costing Rp 70,000 (US$4.71) for Railink and a starting price of Rp 80,000 for the DAMRI shuttle service.

Air passengers have also relied much on ride-hailing services to reach Indonesia’s biggest and busiest airport.

However, discussions are ongoing on whether the proposed TransJakarta airport route will charge the same flat rate.

For comparison, city-owned bus operator Trans Semarang in the Central Java capital operates a direct service to Ahmad Yani International Airport for a flat fare of Rp 3,500.

Airport operators have expressed optimism about the recovery of air transportation as they project a double-digit increase in the number of passengers served this year, both for domestic and international flights.

AP II, which manages airports in the western part of the country, has a target of 73 million passengers in 2023, which would amount to a 17.74-percent increase compared to last year’s figure. The company predicted that international routes this year would grow mostly at Soekarno-Hatta airport.

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