Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities
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Public transport, poverty alleviation and gender issue
Besides alleviating congestion, a good public transport system is also believed by the interviewees as
a tool to reduce poverty and to facilitate access of the poor to urban markets, services and economic
opportunities. The one flat fare of TransJakarta ($0.15 in the off-peak hours and $0.26 in the peak
hours) and the low fares of KRL ($0.15 for the first 25 km and $0.08 for the next 10 km) are
deliberately subsidized in order to maintain affordability of this mode for low income travellers and
large sections of the middle income population who are engaged in commercial and business activities
in the centre of Jakarta.
Furthermore, TransJakarta and KRL are also the only public transport modes in Jakarta that
accommodate the special needs of women. Special compartments for women in TransJakarta
articulated buses and in KRL have been introduced in the last years to reduce sexual harassment to
women in public transport.
Neglected non-motorized transport (NMT) modes
NMT policies have a low priority in the transportation development of Jakarta. Compared to road
network expansion for motorized traffic, the attention given to NMT infrastructure is very minimum.
Available footpaths are mostly taken by street vendors or used for parking lots, causes pedestrian to
walk on the road and share the road with motorized transport users.
Even though the Jakarta Transport Master Plan (2007) gives development directions for NMT
infrastructure network and facilities (pedestrian walkways, crossing facilities, cycling infrastructure
and cycle parking), until now there is no significant increase in the development of NMT network in
Jakarta. 86 km of cycle paths are planned and currently 8.6 km has been constructed. However, due to
weak law enforcement, the cycle paths are also used by motorcycle users who want to avoid traffic
jam especially during the rush hours, push away the cyclists who use the paths.
Weak law enforcement
Traffic law enforcement in Jakarta is very weak, mainly caused by a corrupted bureaucracy. Small
amount of traffic fine that can be given directly to the traffic polices discourages drivers to obey the
traffic rules, worsening traffic jams and causing many road accidents. Many drivers do not possess a
driving license that makes their driving skill questionable. The driving license service is notorious for
corruption, with applicants wanting to skip the administrative process often bribing police officer
through middlemen.
Roles coordination of different institutions
The various meetings held also strengthen the prior assumption of the team concerning coordination
issues among different governmental institutions. Many policies of the Central Government are often
contradictory with the policies of the lower governmental levels. One of the latest examples is the Low
Cost Green Car (LCGC) program launched by the Ministry of Industry to increase the automotive and
supporting industries in Indonesia. The tax incentives applied to this program has increased the
affordability of the middle income class to purchase (more) cars, which eventually encourage more
people to use private cars on the Jakarta’s already congested roads. This issue is considered to add
more burdens to the lower institutional levels, such as Jakarta Transportation Agency and
TransJakarta, who have been working on reducing traffic congestions in Jakarta.
Another example brought up in the meetings is the misuse of the TransJakarta bus way corridors.
According to JTA and TransJakarta, the bus way corridors may only be used by TransJakarta buses
and should be kept from other transport modes. However, in practice, the Traffic Police allows private
vehicles to use the corridors, especially when the corridors are not being used by TransJakarta buses;
to relieve the over congested roads during the peak hours.