MRT Obtains Technical Recommendations

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JAKARTA, KOMPAS— PT MRT Jakarta has obtained technical recommendations from the Transportation Ministry’s director general of railways ahead of the inauguration of the 15.7-kilometer route from Lebak Bulus terminal in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on Sunday, March 24.The city-owned transportation company is now waiting for an operating permit from the Jakarta provincial administration.

Muhamad Kamaluddin, the head of PT MRT’s corporate secretary division, said that technical recommendations for the infrastructure were obtained on March 15, 2019 and for the facilities on March 19.

The company’s construction director, Silvia Halim, said that with the technical recommendations, the MRT was considered safe to be operated. The company is waiting for an operating permit from the Jakarta provincial government to be able to begin commercial operations, Silvia said, adding that the operating permit would be issued before the inauguration.

Meanwhile, Sigit Wijatmoko, the acting head of the Jakarta transportation agency, explained that based on the technical recommendations, the Jakarta provincial government would issue the operating permit for the Lebak Bulus-Bundaran Hotel Indonesia route.

"The One Stop Investment Service and Integrated Service Office will issue the permit after checking and ensuring all operational procedures are met. The transportation department will also give its approval," Sigit said after the meeting at City Hall on Tuesday.

The fares for the eMRT service and light rapid transit (LRT) services connecting Kelapa Gading, and Rawamangun in East Jakarta have not been fixed. PT MRT and PT LRT as the operators have submitted tariff proposals for the two public transportation services to the Jakarta administration.

Speaking after a meeting with the Jakarta administration and the Jakarta Council (DPRD), PT MRT’s director of finance and administration, Tuhiyat, and PT LRT’s director, Allan Tandiono, ensured that studies had been made to calculate the fares of the two public transportation services.

The economic fares for the MRT and LRT services are estimated at Rp 31,659 (US$2.2) and Rp 41,655, respectively. In order not to burden the people, the Jakarta administration is expected to provide a subsidy of Rp 10,000 for the MRT and Rp 6,000 for the LRT.

The Jakarta administration must allocate subsidies for users of the public transportation. Meanwhile, Commission B of the DPRD proposed that the MRT and LRT provide free services to the public until the end of this year.

Abdurrahman Suhaimi, the chairman of the Commission B of the council, said that the free services were needed to encourage citizens to move from private vehicles to public transportation, while at the same time monitoring the people\'s interests.

However, the proposal to provide free services for Jakarta ID card holders would not be easy to implement because the passengers would be required to use electronic money to pay the fares, said Tuhiyat. “We don’t have the technology [to filter out passengers who hold Jakarta ID cards]," Tuhiyat said.

Infrastructure construction

While joining the trial operation of the MRT trial on Tuesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said the government had decided to accelerate the development of the Jakarta megapolitan infrastructure from the initial 30-year plan to 10 years. For transportation, the MRT network is projected to cover 223 kilometers from only 16 kilometers at present. In addition, the LRT line will also be increased from 5.8 kilometers at present to 116 kilometers. The Transjakarta bus lane will be extended from 431 kilometers to 2,149 kilometers and the commuter train route in the city will be increased to 27 kilometers.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said that the limited meeting commissioned the Jakarta administration to handle and manage the construction of all Jakarta mega transportation infrastructure along with its management.

The management will be carried out by city-owned enterprises (BUMD) whose shares would be owned by the Jakarta government. (LAS / HLN)

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