Jakarta Bus Rapid Transit

TransJakarta is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta, Indonesia. Actually it's the easiest & cheapest way to explore Jakarta in all directions. It was the first BRT system in Southern and Southeast Asia. TransJakarta started on January 25, 2004. As of December 28, 2011 there were 11 corridors (or lanes) in operation, with 4 more to be built. TransJakarta was designed to provide Jakarta citizens with a fast public transportation system to help reduce rush hour traffic jams. The buses run in special lanes, and the ticket prices are subsidized by the regional government. In 2011, TransJakarta carried 114,783,774 passengers or about 310,000 passengers per day, increased by 32 percent from 86,937,287 passengers last year. Currently, TransJakarta has the world's longest BRT routes with 172 km system length and has more than 520 buses in operation.

Ticketing & Fares

The cost of a TransJakarta ticket since initial up to now ( April 2012 )  is still Rp. 3,500 (about US $ 40 cents) per trip, or Rp 2,000 ( US $ 0.22) at concessional times (05.00a.m. to 07.00a.m.). Passengers who change direction or who transit to another corridor do not need to pay again provided they do not exit the shelter, except at end of the routes.

Passengers first buy a single paper trip ticket. To enter a shelter, passengers show their tickets to an attendant. There are plans to introduce stored value tickets and integrated ticket with Jakarta Commuter Line  in 2012.

Passengers

During rush hours, people from upper or middle classes (one of the main targets of TransJakarta) usually prefer to use private cars or taxis to avoid inconvenience of the overcrowded Transjakarta buses even though they have to bear with traffic jams instead. Many passengers are thus lower middle class people who are ex-users of other less comfortable and/or more expensive commercial buses.

This situation is at odds with one of the initial objectives of TransJakarta which was to reduce traffic jam during rush hours by persuading private car owners to use comfortable public transport.

Shelters

TransJakarta shelters are different from ordinary bus stops. They are usually located in the middle of the road and are reached by elevated bridges. The stop in front of the well-known Sarinah shopping center on Jl Thamrin in Central Jakarta has lifts but not for right now because the lifts is out of order.

The shelters are made of from aluminum, steel, and glass. Air ventilation works through fins on the aluminum part of the shelters. Floors are made from tread plate. The doors of shelters open automatically when a bus arrives. Some of the connecting elevated bridge ramps have gentle slopes (with some exceptions) to accommodate the disabled. One disadvantage of some of the ramps is that passengers need to walk a relatively long way up the ramps and then double back to reach the boarding shelters. The floors of the bridge are mostly tread plates although some are made from concrete. One problem with the tread plate is that considerable noise is generated by the movement of passengers across the tread plate surfaces. Another problem is that some of the tread plate surfaces can become very slippery during the rainy season. There are no sanitary facilities in most of the shelters.

Bus stops are open from 05:00 – 22:00 although opening hours can be extended if there are passengers still waiting at closing time. Shelters often become extremely overcrowded because of long and sometimes unpredictable intervals between buses. According to a report from the Indonesian Consumers Protection Foundation in 2011, the most common complaint from passengers about the service offered by Transjakarta was the lengthy waiting time for buses at some of the main shelters.

Route Map

For more information on TransJakarta route map please click link this http://www.transjakarta.co.id/rute.php#tab-1