MRT Jakarta — A New Hope
Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta (MRT Jakarta) is train-based transportation in Jakarta. It was inaugurated on 24 May 2019. Jakarta already planned the MRT to be built in 1995, but 2 years later we have an economic crisis so that our plan was discarded. In those times, Jakarta is growing bigger and denser, so the traffic congestion was inavoidable. National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) said that traffic congestion in Greater Jakarta costs Rp 65 trillion every year.
Jakartans feel that our public transportation was inadequate. Our Bus Rapid Transit, Transjakarta (actually, people more often calls it Busway, which is not its true name), was inadequate. Sometimes, the bus gets trapped in the middle of the traffic jam. Also, our Commuter Train system was already packed so that upper-middle-class people don’t want to use it.
MRT Jakarta, and the Commuter Train also, is heavily inspired by Japan Train System. All of the trains in both systems are created in Japan. Japan has a well-known reputation for trains, such as Shinkansen, packed trains in rush hour, strict rules, and excellent on-time performance. So, the services, stations, and culture are similar to Japan. There are also many stores within the station.
MRT Jakarta is bounded from Lebak Bulus to Bundaran HI for around 15 km. It passes many CBDs in Jakarta, such as Simatupang, Blok M, Senayan, and Sudirman, and consists of 14 stations. The train will arrive in the 10-minutes interval (5-minutes interval in rush hour). The train also maintains excellent on-time performance, last month they even scored 100% on-time. The train is called “Ratangga” — taken from Sutasoma scripture — which means a strong chariot. Half of the track is underground, and another half is elevated.
To use MRT Jakarta, we have to use a single trip card or a bank card. The maximum price is Rp. 14.000 (about 1 USD). Compared to the car, it is already cheaper and faster too. Inside the stations, some merchants sell food. In July 2019, approximately 80.000 people ride MRT everyday.
Lately, there are two major incidents in Jakarta. On Friday, there are earthquakes so that all MRT trains should stop first and then continue the journey. Second, on Saturday, blackout happens for a day in Jakarta and West Java, so all of the passengers have to walk into the nearest station. From those two events, MRT Jakarta has proved that it has a good evacuation plan when incidents occur.
Because of those reasons, Jakartans can hope that this is the solution to the traffic jam problem. The extension is already planned to, connecting the ongoing route with Monumen Nasional, Istana Negara, and Kota Tua. But, still, with those routes, Jakarta needs more and more public transport, especially those reach the suburbs. Also, a limitation of private transport should be given, such as the even-odd policy and also the upcoming ERP system.
