Since October 10, 2013, the first phase of Mass Rapid transit (MRT), a monorail-based transport system, began work in Dukuh Atas, through Sudirman station. Along Jalan MH Thamrin in Jakarta, people will find several banners showing Governor Jokowi apology for the inconvenience caused by the construction of the road users project. "After 24 years of dreaming to have a TRM, the dream finally Jakarta residents will come true. In the name of God, the construction of the first MRT track began," Jokowi said at the ceremony.
According PT Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta (Jakarta PT MRT) Phase I extends along approximately 15.2 miles of Bundaran HI (Hotel Indonesia traffic circle) in Lebak Bulus. There will be 13 stations on the route North-South Corridor of Phase I. Each station will be set apart by a few kilometers, from 0.5 km 2 km away. Estimated travel time from one corridor to the other is about 30 minutes.
Corridor I will be seven high and six underground stations. The first involves Lebak Bulus, Fatmawati, Cipete Raya Haji Nawi, Blok A, Blok M and Sisingamangaraja, while the second includes Bundaran HI, Dukuh Atas, Setiabudi, Bendungan Hilir, and Istora Senayan. Corridor I should start operating in 2018.
Stage II, which involves the North-South corridor will connect Kampung Bandan Bundaran HI on a track of 8.1 km. Estimated travel time along the corridor would be 23 minutes, with the distance of each station from approximately 0.8 km to 2.4 km. The South-North Corridor, which aims to start operating in 2018, should serve 629.900 passengers by 2037.
Since the time of Governor Fauzi Bowo precedent, the MRT was just a dream the people of Jakarta had to equalize with advanced transportation systems present in foreign developed countries. Neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines have long MRT systems developed to address traffic congestion in their respective capitals.
Despite the small populations that Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur have larger urban rail networks. Singapore MRT 129.7 km and 28.8 km of feeder LRT (Light Rail Transit). Kuala Lumpur has 175 kilometers commuter town, 56 kilometers from MRT, 57 kilometers of high speed rail (ERL) and 8.6 kilometers from monorails and plans on building an additional 150 kilometers MRT in 2016.
overall, the benefits of MRT will be wasted if the city does not draw up support policies. One of the best ways to integrate the MRT is to develop the public interest by involving the following measures.
First, the successful implementation of the MRT as a cultural movement called for strong leadership. It is not necessarily interpreted as an authoritarian leader. A leader is needed to be a good model for society. Government officials, for example, could put this movement in motion by taking public transportation. They should set an example by staying in residential areas easily accessible by public transport.
creative breakthroughs indirectly supporting the development of MRT should be made on a regular basis. Car Free Day initiatives on certain roads should not only be seen as a populist program or solve the bottleneck node problems, and the problems of traffic congestion for a while. Instead, it needs to be strengthened gradually since the program plays a role in raising awareness and needs efficient lifestyles, healthy and respectful of the public environment.
Second, the implementation of sustainable development MRT involves coordination between different sectors and levels of government. An increase in transport would be more realistic if accompanied by deterrent mechanisms for users of private vehicles on one side and incentives for public transport users on the other. Like it or not, the next task of the city is to change people's behavior through both educational and enforcement measures.
Governments must consistently manage the impact of the automotive industry on people through high taxation and subsidies to selective fuels. As compensation, the government can divert existing funds for the development of ground infrastructure. Rather than rely on toll roads, for example, building massive railways should be a priority.
Third, it is often that the main stumbling block is not related to the quality of TDM service, but its support facilities. Therefore, as part of an integrated development MRT, the government should start thinking about reliable feeders connecting the MRT routes to the centers of settlement. In addition, footpaths linking the shelters to districts and central business office must also be improved.
The long-term growth of the settlements and new centers of activity in the city manager plan has to be integrated into the MRT. Build affordable apartments downtown to shorten commuting trips of residents is inevitable. In a large city, 80 percent of residents must live in the vertical center of the housing.
As a means of transport at the urban scale, the MRT must be in unison with regional systems and national transport scale. This can be done by developing intermodal nodes such as MRT stations being combined with the expansion of bus terminals, railway stations, airports and ports. For convenience, the payment system should use automated technologies, such as prepaid cards or chips, that are adapted to other means of public transport.
Fourth, the MRT development should start with a simple thing like improving the Busway. With the complex transport system in the capital, the next program certainly involves more complex modes such as monorail, tram and underground. Moreover, it is undeniable that the development of MRT will lead to job losses since the city transport sector is more capital intensive by nature. Thus, the government should explore all possibilities for adaptation and the transfer of the transport sector employers in stadiums by capacity building, capital assistance and the provision of new jobs.
The busway in the capital, called Transjakarta, remains relevant. To keep Transjakarta central in the lives of Jakartans, people must be aware of their responsibilities when using the buses. There are still many people who do not know the rules up and down the bus and many prefer their own cars to take the bus. So Transjakarta has no more than 5,000 buses to accommodate 350,000 people a day, private cars accommodate one to three people at a time. The problem of Transjakarta buses being unable to pass through their ways because of many cars that use these channels is now treated by the police and fines on heavy place for lawbreakers.