Day 3 — Guide to MRT in Jakarta

Hello and welcome to HENNGE Advent Calendar! This is the third day of the event and I hope that you are having a great day, wherever you are!

This is what I’m going to talk about today! Photo by Zalfa Imani on Unsplash

Today, I want to write and hopefully provide a guide on how to use MRT in Jakarta, Indonesia. In Bahasa Indonesia, formally we call it Moda Raya Terpadu, which is the literal translation of Mass Rapid Transit, casually we just call it MRT with the same pronunciation as the English word. MRT is one of the relatively new public transportations (2019 is the official release) in Jakarta and is one of the best ways to get around Jakarta in a relatively short and simple way without having to deal with the traffic. The fare is also very good for the quality (you need Rp14.000,00 to ride through the complete MRT line), and you can reach the farthest destination (from one end to the other end) in the MRT route in around 30 minutes! With this guide and just four steps, I hope to show you how to maximize the power of MRT and to use this public transportation to the fullest extent when you come to Jakarta someday!

Note: This guide is written on 22 November 2022, so there could be some changes to the whole MRT system if you happen to stumble across this guide in the future! All of the pictures are taken by my phone on 20 November 2022.

First Step: Getting to Know the MRT Routes

First, I would like to introduce you to the available routes in MRT. For now, MRT only has one route, which spans from South Jakarta to Central Jakarta. Here is a map that visualizes the available route and the fare for each stop.

MRT Jakarta’s service map

Basically, if you are traveling around South Jakarta or Central Jakarta, the MRT is a good choice to visit a lot of places along the way. You can stop by a station, go down or up (depending on the station’s exit) to visit the nearby spots, then return back to ride the MRT again to your next destination!

Second Step: Learning About the Fare / Tariff

Before we can discuss the fare, we have to discuss the payment methods first. There are several payment methods that you can use:

1. Single Trip Ticket (currently it is not able to be used because of Covid-19 pandemic)
2. Multi Trip Ticket
3. JakLingko Card
4. Bank Prepaid Cards (JakCard, BCA Flazz Card, BNI TapCash, Mandiri e-Money, and BRI BRIZZI)
5. MRT Jakarta Application

Personally, I recommend you to use the number (4) because it is the simplest way to pay. You just need to tap the card in the card reader when you are entering the MRT Station, and then you use the same card when you are about to exit from the MRT Station, the fare will be deducted from the remaining funds in your prepaid card. If you do not have a bank prepaid card, do not worry, you can go to the nearest convenience store or a supermarket in Indonesia and usually they sell one for you! The same also applies if you run out of funds in your prepaid card, you can of course visit the nearest convenience store/supermarket and recharge your card.

As an additional tip, you can use bank prepaid cards to pay for something at the convenience store, pay to park, pay toll roads, and pay for other public transportation. Very convenient!

As an alternative, you can go to the MRT Station and also order a Multi-Trip Ticket from the automatic ticket vending machine. You will get a card and in the context of MRT, you can use it as you do with bank prepaid cards.

MRT Jakarta’s ticket machine. It supports English as well!

Now that you have learned the possible payment methods to ride the MRT, the tariff of the MRT is as follows:

From Lebak Bulus Station (we call it Lebak Bulus Grab here):

• Lebak Bulus Grab — Fatmawati Indomaret: Rp4.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — Cipete Raya: Rp5.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — Haji Nawi: Rp6.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — Blok A: Rp7.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — Blok M BCA: Rp8.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — ASEAN: Rp9.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — Senayan: Rp11.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — Istora Mandiri: Rp11.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — Bendungan Hilir: Rp12.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — Setiabudi Astra: Rp13.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — Dukuh Atas BNI: Rp14.000,00
• Lebak Bulus Grab — Bundaran HI: Rp14.000,00

From Bundaran HI Station:

• Bundaran HI — Dukuh Atas BNI: Rp3.000,00
• Bundaran HI — Setiabudi Astra: Rp4.000,00
• Bundaran HI — Bendungan Hilir: Rp4.000,00
• Bundaran HI — Istora Mandiri: Rp5.000,00
• Bundaran HI — Senayan: Rp6.000,00
• Bundaran HI — ASEAN: Rp7.000,00
• Bundaran HI — Blok M BCA: Rp8.000,00
• Bundaran HI — Blok A: Rp9.000,00
• Bundaran HI — Haji Nawi: Rp10.000,00
• Bundaran HI — Cipete Raya: Rp11.000,00
• Bundaran HI — Fatmawati Indomaret: Rp13.000,00
• Bundaran HI — Lebak Bulus Grab: Rp14.000,00

MRT fare map (In this case I was at the Lebak Bulus Grab station)

I have several notes that would probably be useful for you:

• You don’t have to start your trip at either Bundaran HI / Lebak Bulus Grab, but you can also take “part routes”, for example, starting at Senayan and finishing at Blok M BCA. The price would be prorated depending on the number of stations that you will pass by during your trip.
• If you are using a prepaid card, you need to have at least Rp14.000 in your remaining prepaid card balance, or you will have to recharge your card first.

Third Step: Environment at the MRT Station

There are quite a lot of vendors at the MRT station, ranging from convenience stores, mini coffee shops, souvenir shops, other shops, and ATMs. It may differ from station to station, though! Usually, what you need to do is just to follow the instructions on the signs (they are also available in English) and you will find yourself waiting for the MRT to come to your location and just need to board it.

Oh, and in some stations (Lebak Bulus Grab, Blok M BCA, Dukuh Atas, and Bundaran HI), MRT has been integrated with Jakarta’s other public transportation, such as the Transjakarta Bus (Busway). If you stop at this station, you can switch between public transportation in a very straightforward way. If on your trip you want to go halfway by MRT, and the other half by other public transportation, this is a good choice.

Fourth Step: Enjoy MRT!

The final step is to sit down and enjoy the ride and the view! If you want to take a look where you actually are, you can look upwards and there will be a display that provides information about your current location and the next station that the train is heading towards.

This display shows where you actually are in the MRT route

Now that’s all done, my guide about how to completely harness and maximize the power of MRT when you are in Jakarta someday has come to an end. I hope this guide will provide you with some insights and inspiration about what it’s like to ride in the relatively new public transportation in Jakarta! Thank you for reading this article and hope it is useful to you!

This article is part of the 2022 HENNGE Advent Calendar. An Advent calendar is a special calendar used for counting down the days till Christmas. 2022 HENNGE Advent Calendar presents one article by one HENNGE member per day for 25 days until Christmas, 2022.