Awaiting Spatial Reorganizing in MRT Areas

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

Cars are parked on a parking lot provided by the Jakarta administration at the Lebak Bulus MRT station in South Jakarta on Tuesday (26/3/2019). The 8,000-square meter parking lot is intended for residents to park their vehicles and continue their journey with the MRT.

MRT Jakarta’s full commercial operations will begin on April 1, with the distance-based fare having been announced on Tuesday (26/3/2019). The government’s next task should be implementing full integration between public transportation modes and spatial reorganization.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS— Negotiations on MRT Jakarta’s fare have finally finished. On Tuesday (26/3), it was decided that the fare would be distance-based, ranging from Rp 3,000 (US 21 cents) to Rp 14,000 per person.

The agreement was reached in an hour-long closed-door meeting between Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and City Council speaker Prasetio Edi Marsudi in Prasetio’s office. “We have agreed on a list of MRT fares. Fares are different between stations,” Anies said.

On the list of fares, fare between two consecutive stations is set at Rp 3,000. Passengers riding the MRT from Lebak Bulus Station to Bundaran HI station (currently the line’s full length) will need to pay Rp 14,000. However, passengers riding between Lebak Bulus and Senayan will only need to pay Rp 10,000.

The agreement reached on Tuesday was a continuation from an earlier meeting on Monday (25/3). In a joint leadership meeting on Monday, the City Council had set the MRT fare at Rp 8,500 per 10 kilometers. However, this was not approved by the city administration. The city’s executive and legislative then met again on Tuesday.

Previously, city MRT operator PT MRT Jakarta president director William P. Sabandar explained that the fare would not burden operations as there would be a government subsidy. Prasetio said discussions on the subsidy would commence on April 1.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

A transit-oriented development (TOD) area on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta, seen here on Tuesday (26/3/2019), connects the Sudirman commuter train (KRL) station with the BNI City Airport Train station, the Dukuh Atas MRT station and the Transjakarta bus shelter. The arrangement of the area aims to facilitate the transfer of passengers between different modes of transportation.

Anies said he would soon issue a gubernatorial regulation on the fare. He said the fare that would be applied starting April 1 would not be an integrated fare for all public transportation services in the city. “We plan to propose a subsidy for integrated fares next year. For now, the fare subsidy will be different between transportation modes,” he said.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in his office on Tuesday that the MRT fare should be adjusted to the fares of other public transportation modes in Jakarta. If the fare gap between transportation modes is too high, there are concerns that people will not use the MRT.

Changing together

Beyond fare issues, PT MRT Jakarta and civil organizations such as Transport for Jakarta (TfJakarta) continue their behavioral change campaigns in using mass transit services.

With the hashtag #BerubahBareng (#ChangingTogether), the Twitter account @TfJakarta uploads various posters about good behavior on mass transit. This must be made viral in line with the city’s public transportation development.

TfJakarta co-founder Andriansyah Yasin Sulaiman said the TfJakarta movement was launched in 2017 as part of the Greater Jakarta Transportation Discussion Forum (FDTJ). TfJakarta’s programs include distributing route maps of Transjakarta buses and KRL commuter lines to passengers.

Spatial development

Mass transit development will mean spatial reorganization. Without it, the MRT line’s presence will not mean much in terms of city improvements.

Therefore, Gubernatorial Regulation (Pergub) No. 44/2017 on transit-oriented development (TOD) was issued. This was followed by Pergub No. 140/2017 on the assignment of PT MRT Jakarta as the main operator in developing TOD.

Pergub No. 44/2017 defines TOD as spatial development on the intersection of two or more mass transportation corridors, one of which is rail-based. Such areas are deemed of having high economic values and are planned and/or declared as center of activities.

Transportation observer Djoko Setijowarno from the Soegijapranata Catholic University in Semarang said that the government should not misunderstood the TOD concept and haphazardly build apartments near mass transit stations.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Pedestrians walk through an underpass below Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta on Tuesday (26/3/2019).

Conceptually, TODs must not have any parking space. People’s mobility will be supported by an integration of transportation modes. Bus stops and train stations are connected by comfortable pedestrian ways. Roads are well-shaded by greeneries. Such TODs must comprise office buildings, shopping centers and residential towers for people in various economic classes. It must also be equipped with various public facilities.

“First, improve physical integration between transportation modes. Once this is achieved, spatial development will be doable,” Indonesian Transportation Society’s (MTI) Railway Transportation Forum head Aditya Dwi Laksana said.

With respect to MRT Jakarta, it has been decided that there will be eight TOD areas. However, only one area, namely Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta, has been developed. Even this is only in the early stages and more time is necessary to see whether or not development in the area is in line with TOD principles.

(HLN/DEA/DVD/NTA)