Infrastructure Regeneration in Jakarta

Sudirman Centre Business District, Jakarta

Problem Definition
Like many big cities in developing countries, Jakarta suffers from major urbanization problems. The population has risen sharply from 1.2 million in 1960 to 5.8 million in 2000, counting only its legal residents. The rapid population growth has outgrown the government’s ability to provide basic needs for its residents.

The infrastructure problem of Jakarta still occurs until present. The number of private automobiles, used mainly by people with middle and upper incomes, has increased faster than any other form of transportation in Jakarta and this has created a demand for the expansion of roads and parking. Traffic congestion is a serious problem despite costly efforts to create new and improved roads. Traffic control measures, such as restricted lanes for high-occupancy vehicles, have helped somewhat. The majority of people must rely on public transportation. Although the fleet is old and breakdowns are frequent, buses are the most common form of mass transit. In addition, a variety of smaller vehicles, including the motorized three-wheeled bajaj, are important. To ease congestion, the government banned the use of becaks (three-wheeled pedi cabs). However, they are still widely used in the city’s neighborhoods as an inexpensive and accessible mode of transportation. The modernization and expansion of Jakarta’s urban rail system has been an important planning issue since the 1970s; a major upgrading of the electrical rail network is now in progress.

[2] PROBLEM ANALYSIS
Transportation Issue
There are railways throughout Jakarta; however, they are inadequate in providing transportation for the citizens of Jakarta. In peak hours, the number of passengers simply overloads the capacity provided. The railroad tracks connect Jakarta to its neighboring cities: Depok and Bogor to the south, Tangerang and Serpong to the west, and Bekasi, Karawang, and Cikampek to the east. The major rail stations are Gambir, Jatinegara, Manggarai, Tanah Abang and Jakarta Kota.

Buses and Busway takes less than half an hour to traverse a route which would normally take more than an hour during peak hours. Construction of the 2nd and 3rd corridor routes of the Busway was completed in 1999, serving the route from Pulogadung to Kalideres. Busway serving both corridor routes has been operational since January 2002.

Despite the presence of many large, wide roads Jakarta suffers from congestion due to heavy traffic, especially in the central business district. To reduce traffic jams, some major roads in Jakarta have a ‘three in one’ rule during rush hours, first introduced in 1992, prohibiting passengers on certain roads. In 2005, this rule covered the Gatot Subroto Road.

Jakarta’s road is notorious for the behaviour of the traffic; the rules of the road are broken with impunity as a simple bribe of a few US dollars will simply make all one’s legal problems disappear. Furthermore, in recent years the number of motorcycles on the streets has being growing almost exponentially, ensuring many a problem due to ill-disciplined motorcyclists.

[3] SOLUTION
Policy Program
The integrated highlight policy of Jakarta is fully included in Jakarta Main Plan. The Plan belonging to the Jakarta City Administration encompasses the Jakarta development from 1985 – 2002. The Jakarta administration also determines the Strategic Plan (Renstrada) to complete the main Plan. Renstrada explains the special duties and goals that must be carried out by the governor. The City Administration proves the high self-managing in financing the long-term, the middle-term and the short-term plans as most of the Regional Budget is from the local sources.

The improvement of public transportation quality is one of the plans in the Renstrada of the Jakarta Municipality. The target is to enhance the public transportation service. The plans are attach the quantity of the public transportation with the support from some private sectors, reorganize the route according to the road hierarchy and function, and selectively develop the new shorter access and new mass rapid transportation for the public transportation facility.

The other infrastructure plan in Renstrada is to enhance the traffic management. The target is the optimal traffic management in Jakarta. The defined activities are make best use of the space street function by restricting the traffic selectively and raise the harmony between each transportation mode.

Bus Rapid Transit System, Called Busway
TransJakarta is a bus rapid transit system in Jakarta, Indonesia. The system is modeled on the successful TransMilenio system in Bogotá, Colombia. Alternative common names include Busway or TJ. The first TransJakarta line opened to the public on January 15, 2004.

TransJakarta buses use fully dedicated road lanes. The buses have the doors that are higher than normal buses, so they can only reached from the special Busway stops. Tickets are purchased at the entrance to the air-conditioned stop building. The tickets use smart card technology and must be validated on entry. As of March 2006, TransJakarta carried an average of 120,000 passengers per day, up from 65,000 in late 2005. Ridership has grown rapidly in Corridors II and III while steadily increasing in Corridor I. For the three currently operating corridors, ridership is expected to peak at 260,000. Further growth will come with the construction of Corridors IV, V, VI, and VII in late 2006. There is a special program for the student groups. They have special bus not merged by the general passengers. The target is to train these students to stand in line, be decent, and like the transport car.

The line open for the first time is Corridor I along 12,9 km that serves Blok M-Kota. Corridors II (Pulogadung-Harmoni) and III (Kalideres-Harmoni) started operation on January 15, 2006. The routes are initially operated with only 25 buses total, a number that should increase to 71 in April 2006. For future corridors line 4,5,6, & 7 are currently under construction and are due for operations on Jan 5, 2007. Jakarta City Administration is committed to run a total of 15 Busway corridors by 2010.

Jakarta Busway is managed by consortium called TransJakarta Consortium under control of the Government of DKI Jakarta province. Other actors that also support this program are city bus companies, other small scale public transportation organizations and PT KAI (mass rapid train company) that support as a feeder of Busway. PERTAMINA (Private oil company) has a cooperation with the consortium to supply the fuel energy of Busway. Excluded actors like urbanists, city environmentalists and public always monitor this system as well to make sure this system goes in the right track. All these actors are working together to make this program works properly and effectively.

The vision and mission of the TransJakarta Consortium
Vision:

1. Support Jakarta as a capital of the Republic of Indonesia that humane, efficient, and have a power to compete and parallel with other cities in the world globally, settled by society that participative, have character, prosperous and have civilation in the secure and sustainable life environment.
2. Create efficient public transportation system, and able to support the economic growth and give best alternative to the public in travelling.
   

Mission:

1. Promote and increase the public transpotation use by Jakarta society.
2. Develop and give the best service level of modern public transportation as other big cities in the world.
3. Integrate multi-mode transportation system to give convenience and comfort public promenade.
4. Grow discipline habit by good transportation.
   

[4] EVALUATION & CONCLUSION
Short Term Evaluation
There are many solution to solve this infrastructure problem which have already been decided and implemented in Jakarta. Busway is one of the new public transportation system that is just been introduced to the public. First time when this system was launched, many people has a doubt about it. They doubt that this program will not work succesfully, instead will make another traffic problem because the Busway line will take one street line for it line and separated by lane separator. Moreover, around 95 % of transportation observer refused Busway. But, when it starts its operation, people turn to support Busway, because it can overcome traffic jams in Jakarta.

Before it was launched, city Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso was optimistic residents will accept Trans Jakarta or Busway program as Busway is not a lavish project. The Busway, governor went on to say, departs from macro transport scheme developed by the city Jakarta administration in anticipation of a numerous vehicles.

However, from the beginning when Busway was launched on the first time, public is satisfied with this new system. After two weeks of fully operation, Busway passengers edge up sharply by 532,685 passengers, totaling 17,837 passengers from January 15. On the first week of operation, launched on February 1 to February 7, the bus can convey around 257,424 passengers. TransJakarta management unveils that the Busway passenger rate indicates a positive result after three months of operation. In responding the expected target, the head of TransJakarta management said people welcomed the Busway warmly, adding the mangement needed to work harder to improve the Busway service.

TransJakarta-Busway management, as a matter of fact, puts the target of 18,000 passengers/direction/hour, but it fails to meet the target. In order to support the Busway optimally, TransJakarta management and Jakarta Transportation agency had already employ as many as 383 feeder buses.

In a bid to improve its service to all people, TransJakarta-Busway management keeps on conducting some efforts that are believed to be able to materialize its purpose. One of the efforts is to involve the people in monitoring the Busway officers, as the Busway frontliners, during their duties TransJakarta wants all passengers to be safe and comfortable during on the bus, and at the shelters because the officers are stationed there.

The head of center for Transport Studies (CS) of Indonesia University Prof. Sutanto Sehodho confirmed that the TransJakarta Busway program launched last year gets successful. The program according to him indirectly has changed the Jakartans’ attitude to willingly make a line and to have a sense of belonging. However, he suggested the Jakarta administration should form a special body to take care of the public transportation. Having a success program on Busway corridor we believe we would be able to provide better service for people in the future.

This TransJakarta Busway system could be a model transportation for other cities nationwide. The Busway project could be followed with several transportation modes as TransJakarta was on of the alternative ways to deal with the capital complicated traffic. The traffic problem will not be able to deal with properly providing that the city administration simply counts on Busway.

Long Term Plan
Jakarta will have overall integrated infrastructure in 2010. There will be 15 corridors of Busway (1 corridor will be disable after a subway line is operated), 2 line of Jakarta Monorail (LRT), Blue Line and Green Line, MRT Subway with elevated track, ground track and underground track, and also Waterbus on Banjr Kanal Timur and Banjir Kanal Barat.

After making a success on Busway corridor, Jakarta administration is expected to plan bicycle corridor on city’s thoroughfares in the future. The expectation is conveyed by bike lovers while conducting a parade on Jl. Thamrin and Sudirman, business main street of Jakarta. Making a start in front of Bank Danamon on Jl. Sudirman the bikers cruise the thoroughfares, conveying a message to Jakartans to use bicycles in a bid to promote clean and healthy air. They can go to work by bicycles in replacement of private cars and public transportation.

First there was the Busway, then the monorail system, and now the city is once again dusting off the Mass Rapid Transport system, or MRT. The Jakarta administration and central government are teaming up to start the ambitious US$767.66 million project in an effort to ease chronic traffic woes in the capital. Part subway, part suburban rail system, the first phase will include three underground stations and nine elevated ones.

Dream of Jakarta residents to have river transportation facility also will be realized soon. At the moment, Department of Transportation is preparing the concept of river transportation. River transportation is one of three macro transportation pattern in Jakarta. There’re three pattern of macro transportation in Jakarta: land, water, and rail transportation. For initial step, river transportation development will be conducted at Manggarai-Karet way of Banjir Kanal Barat. The reason is that area is considered as centre for business and trade. Manggarai-Karet route in the future will be one of meeting point between Busway and monorail. It would be 5 harbours along the route. The location would be Manggarai, Mampang, Rasuna Said, Tamrin-Sudirman, and KH. Mansyur. If that project is finished, development will be continued to all Banjir Kanal Barat route.

The parallel alternative modes are monorail, subway and water or river transportations. Jakarta metropolitan administration, as a matter of fact, has put the modes of transportation in its main agenda, stipulated in Jakarta macro transportation plan. However, the administration has yet to say for sure when the macro transportation construction to start.

Jakarta Provincial Government also plans to make all vehicles traveling city roads to drive on natural gas by 2010. But, as the first step, the use of natural gas will be applied to operational vehicles of City Administration only. The use of natural gas was environment friendly and save the energy. Moreover, Jakarta is a pilot project for other provinces in Indonesia in terms of using natural gas. Currently in Jakarta, there are 14 natural gas stations, but only 8 of them that have function. Therefore, in the near future, the agency will repair those natural gas stations.

Conclusion
The transJakarta Busway has changed the transportation paradigm in Jakarta. Ever since it started to operate on January 15, 2004, transJakarta Busway has become the favorite of the Jakartans from many groups, either common people or yuppies who work alongside the Busway passage. Also since the passage II and III started to operate on January 15, 2006 has transformed the personal vehicle user into the transJakarta user. Around 14% of personal vehicle user has transformed into transJakarta user. According to the data from Jakarta Department of Transportation, Busway passage I-III carry around 120.000 passenger/day.

This new infrastructure system called Busway that has been implemented in Jakarta is an urban regeneration project of this city. This project could fulfill all the urban regeneration aspect, for example that this Busway program is a comprehensive and integrated vision and action that made by the consortium of TransJakarta. This program also leads to the resolution of urban problem and seeks to bring about a lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social, and environmental condition of an area that has been subject to change because the congestion of Jakarta traffic can be reduced maximally. This program is also an activity which straddles the public, private and community sectors because it involves all the Jakarta important sectors. This Busway program is also a means of determining policies and actions designed to improve the condition of urban areas and developing the institutional structures necessary to support the preparation of specific proposals for a better infrastructure of Jakarta.

Delft, January 2007
Sigit Kusumawijaya

REFERENCES

• Administration`s Strategic Development ( 2002 – 2007) Plan. Chapter 1
• Berita Jakarta, http://www.beritajakarta.com/english/default.asp, visiting website October 27th, 2006.
• Bishop, Ian D., Francisco Escobar, Sadasivam Karuppannan1, Ksemsan Suwarnarat, Ian P. Williamson, Paul M.Yates, Haider W. Yaqub. Spatial Data Infrastructures For Cities In Developing Countries: Lessons From The Bangkok Experience, (University of Melbourne and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration).
• Buehler, Ralph. Urban Development in Mega-Cities in Developing Countries: Potentials of Citizen Participation in Planning and Managing Urban Development, (Universität Konstanz, Fachbereich für Politik- und Verwaltungswissenschaften, 2003).
• Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft Encarta, (Redmon: Microsoft Corporation, 2005), keyword: Jakarta
• Municipality of Jakarta Official Website, http://www.jakarta.go.id/v21/home/default.asp?lg=2, visiting website October 8th, 2006.
• Municipality of Jakarta Official Website. The Jakarta City
• Roberts, Peter & Hugh Sykes. Urban Regeneration: A Handbook, (London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2004)
• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/, visiting website October 8th, 27th & 29th, 2006.

This writing is an assignment submitted for the Master study course Social Development of the Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). This writing is not the full version of the assignment, only Abstract and Summary of All Chapters are showed.