MRT Greatly Reduce Commute Time, says Jakarta Workers

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - As of today, the city’s latest line of transport MRT Jakarta Ratangga is officially commercially operable with a 50 percent tariff discount in the first month for all routes.

Tempo reached out to Jakartans who plan on using the MRT as their daily commute to work.

First was Evi Dwiyanti (40) who works at a private-owned bank in the area of Kuningan. Evi said she opted to test out the MRT Jakarta since its free-trial period and found that her commute to work was slashed to nearly half.

“It’s much quicker,” said Evi at the Lebak Bulus Station in South Jakarta. “It only took an hour from my home to my office, which previously took almost two hours.” Apart from the time efficiency the MRT offers, Evi also praised the services of the men and women stationed in MRT stations and trains.

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Another Jakartan working in Central Jakarta was Yunita (26) who commuted from her home in Ragunan to Aksa Tower Kuningan City. She said that the trip only took an hour compared to her previous commute by Transjakarta that takes nearly two hours to reach Kuningan City.

“I previously used Transjakarta, but they still get stuck in traffic. I could usually spend two hours before arriving at my office,” said Yunita who rides the MRT from Lebak Bulus to Bendungan Hilir that only takes 20 minutes before continuing her commute on motorcycle taxi (ojek).

Asked whether the tariff MRT has set would be a hindrance, she said; “Time is much more precious for me personally, I wouldn’t mind it being a little pricey.”

IMAM HAMDI