After years of discussions, planning, and prevarication dating back to 1985, the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Jakarta is finally operating. President Joko Widodo officially inaugurated Phase I (Lebak Bulus - Bundaran HI) on Sunday, March 24, accompanied by Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan.
As the new transportation kid on the block, MRT Jakarta is the symbol of a “new civilization,” President Widodo said in his inauguration speech. After a two-week trial run, the MRT was officially open to the public on April 1.
After eagerly eyeing the MRT’s progress over the last couple of years or so, and going underground for a construction tourback in 2017, the AmCham team were excited to take part in the pre launch MRT Trial Run on March 21. Eager for an adventure, we headed to Istora Station, the nearest to our office at WeWork Revenue Tower, SCBD, and let the train take the strain on our journey to Bundaran HI Station.
Clean and modern accurately sum up our first impressions of Istora Station. The station offers big metropolitan city transportation vibes like in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taipei. Equipped with decent air conditioning, it appeared ready for a huge volume of people.
The MRT operates from 5am to midnight, with 14 MRT trains and two reserve trains. Expected to carry around 130,000 people per day, it will run every 10 minutes in off-peak hours, and every five minutes in peak hours.
While waiting for the train, the AmCham team noticed that there were almost no seats or benches in the station, which is unfortunate seeing that the elderly or parents with kids might need one while waiting. We asked nearby staff about this, and she took note of our comments. Also, there were not enough information signs in the station, for instance to remind commuters not to bring food and drinks.
The train arrived swiftly and almost noiselessly, but was very crowded and we could barely fit inside. We assume the massive crowds were because journeys during the trial run were free of charge.
Despite the crowding, the train cars also had decent air-conditioning, maintaining a comfortable temperature in Jakarta’s hot weather. The train was also exceptionally fast and quiet. On average it only takes 1.5 minutes from one station to the next. With 13 stations operating from Lebak Bulus to Bundaran HI, it takes less than 30 minutes to travel between the two.
The 13 stations are: Lebak Bulus - Fatmawati - Cipete Raya - Haji Nawi - Blok A - Blok M - Sisingamangaraja - Senayan - Istora - Bendungan Hilir - Setiabudi - Dukuh Atas - Bundaran Hotel Indonesia, are Phase I of the MRT. Phase II, which will cover the Bundaran HI - Kota route, is in progress.
The minimum fare is Rp 8,500 (about 60 US cents). Using a cashless system, there are two kinds of tickets, called Kartu Jelajah – single-trip and multi-trip. Single trip tickets have a seven-day validity period, while multi-trip tickets can be used for multiple trips, top-up credits and have no expiration date.
MRT Jakarta is an exciting new mode of transportation worth trying. It’s comfortable, modern, but still packed with people, at least on the trial run. With cheap fares, you don’t have to worry about traffic jams any more.
