Analyst: Public Transport Network Needs to be Restructured  

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Susi Sakti has waited for almost one hour for a TransJakarta bus to arrive at Tosari bus stop in Central Jakarta, but the agonizing wait for her turn to board the bus is far from over. During rush hour, passengers like Susi - which mainly consists of employees wishing to get home after a hard day's work - continue to pile on the overcrowded 2.5x5 meter bus stop.

Susi is one among millions of public transport users in Jakarta. Their daily commuting experience is characterized by long waits at overcrowded bus stops, followed by even longer hours trapped in Jakarta's notorious traffic jams. "It takes me about three hours to get home," said Susi on Friday. By contrast, it takes her less than one hour to get home from her office at the vicinity of Hotel Indonesia roundabout by hitching a ride on her husband's motorcycle. As a result, Susi often prefers to wait for her husband - who finishes work far later than she does - so they can spend less time in traffic, together. "We usually arrive at around the same time, although I finish work much earlier than my husband (who goes home by motorcycle)," complained Susi.

The wretched state of public transportation in Jakarta is not a recent occurrence. According to the data released by Jakarta's Transport Agency, only 14 percent of trips - an equivalent of 3.5 million trips - were done on public transportation, out of the total of 25 million trips made throughout Jakarta and its surrounding satellite cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.

The disappointing data comes despite a number of efforts on the part of the government to force more people to utilise public transportation instead. For example, the government has purchased a fleet of buses whose sole purpose is to feed passengers from Jakarta' satellite cities to TransJakarta buses (APTB), and more recently, an electronic road pricing (ERP) system is being trialled in light of the Jakarta administration's plan to implement the system by the end of 2015.

That said, the government's efforts remain insufficient to solve the perennial traffic problem that continues to plague Jakarta. The entire TransJakarta bus system can only carry 320,000 passengers per day, while the Jabodetabek electric rail system is only able to carry a further 650,000 passengers per day in deplorable, crowded conditions - especially so during rush hour.

These conditions mean that private transportation - which includes, cars, motorcycles, even bikes - remain as the faster and more comfortable way to get from point A to point B in the capital.

The chairman of Indonesian Transport Society (MTI) Danang Parikesit said that the less-than-ideal state of public transportation in Jakarta will not succeed in enticing people to leave their private modes of transportation at home in favour of mass transportation. He used Singapore as an example - Singapore transport authorities did not implement the ERP system until they managed to put in place an efficient, proper and sufficient public transportation system. "The public transportation system needs to have the capacity to carry at least 40 percent of all commuters," said Parikesit to Tempo on Thursday, August 21, 2014.

According to Parikesit, to achieve such ends - in addition to merely adding 10,000 to 15,000 buses - the public transportation network needs to be restructured. The TransJakarta bus network, the railway system, and the planned Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) should form the backbone of public transportation in Jakarta, while other forms of transportations - such as public minibuses and minivans (angkots) - should be utilised as a part of feeder services to feed passengers into the main lines. "This is crucial for the success and profitability of the entire transport network in the future," he added.

The head of Jakarta's Transport Agency, Muhammad Akbar, said that he is optimistic that his agency can increase the total amount of modes for public transportation within 1.5 years to support the planned ERP system. "We have communicated the plan with TransJakarta administrators, and we are in the process of forming a model for cooperation with other bus operations," said Akbar to Tempo, on Friday.

ANGGRITA DESYANI