TransJakarta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 (pronounced Tije, "tee-jay").
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[edit] History
The first TransJakarta line opened to the public on January 15, 2004. The first two weeks of service were free, while commercial operation started on February 1, 2004.
TransJakarta was bulit with the objective of providing the citizen of Jakarta with a fast, comfortable, and affordable, mass transportation system in mind. To accomplish those objectives the buses were given one fully dedicated line with separator blocks on the streets which became part of their route which are restricted for other vehicles; and the ticket price is subsidized by the state government.
During the first two operational weeks, from January 15, 2004 until January 30, 2004, the service was made free. This free trial would allow the citizen to know better the new transportation system. Then, starting from February 1, 2005, TransJakarta started it's commercial operation.
TransJakarta suffered some initial teething problems, like when the roof of one of the buses rammed into a railway tunnel. In addition, many buses had technical issues like broken doors and stop buttons.
In order to promote gender equity, TransJakarta keeps increasing the number of female driver recruits. The projected proportion is 30% from the total of drivers.
- January 15, 2004: Corridor I, Blok M-Jakarta Kota (soft launch)
- February 1, 2004: Corridor I, Blok M-Jakarta Kota (commercial service)
- January 15, 2006: Corridor II, Pulogadung-Harmoni and III, Kalideres-Harmoni opened
- January, 2007: Corridor IV, Pulo Gadung-Dukuh Atas, Corridor V, Kp. Melayu-Ancol, Corridor VI, Ragunan-Kuningan, and Corridor VII Kp. Rambutan-Kp. Melayu opened
[edit] Bus
Each bus is constructed with passengers' safety in mind. For example the body frame is constructed using Galvanyl (Zn - Fe Alloy), a strong and rust-resistant metal. There are also 8 or 10 glass-shattering hammers pinned at some of the window frames and 3 emergency door for fast evacuation during emergency, there are also 2 fire extinguisher at the front and back of the bus interior.
The colors of TransJakarta's Mercedes-Benz and Hino air-conditioned buses are red and yellow, with a young Brahminy Kite which looks very similar to a bald eagle (the picture in the bird' wiki is a picture of an adult bird) grasping a tree branch with 3 snakefruits on it. The buses are using special diesel fuel (a mix between diesel and biodiesel). For Corridor II (bus colors: blue and white) and III (bus colors: yellow and red), the buses are natural CNG fueled Daewoo buses imported from South Korea. Due to various coachbuilder involved and design tweaks applied overtime, the exterior and interior appearance, quality, and comfort may slightly vary from bus to bus operating in the same Corridor.
The capacity of each bus is 30 seated and 55 standing passengers, though during rush hours these numbers are often exceeded.
The passenger doors are located on the middle right and middle left part of the bus, and are placed higher than normal so that passengers could only board from the designated shelter. The doors employ automated folding mechanisms which can be manually controlled from the driver's console. Because the normal folding doors would not function optimally when the bus is overcrowded, the buses of corridors II and III, use sliding doors in order to accommodate the surge of passengers during rush hours. Protective full-height acrylic glass barriers are installed behind those passenger seats which are close to the sliding door mechanism.
The seats orientation for all buses is facing the aisle of the bus, This design applied to optimize passengers' movement during rush hours. Corridor 1 buses use comfortable cushioned bus seats, the buses from subsequent Corridors are using less cushioned, hence less comfortable, seats.
Each bus is equipped with electronic board and speaker which will announce the name of shelters in 2 languages, Indonesian and English. Each bus is also equipped with bi-directional radio transceiver to allows the driver to give and get updated informations regarding traffic jams, road accidents, lost items, etc.
To keep air fresh, especially during rush hours, starting from January 2005, each bus will be equipped with automatic air freshener dispensers, which will periodically spray car fragrance.
[edit] Shelter
TransJakarta shelter are also different from ordinary bus stops. They are typically located in the center of the road and reached by elevated bridges. Moreover, the halts in front of Sarinah shopping place and the UN office have lifts.
The shelter itself is mainly composed from aluminum, steel, dan glass. Air ventilation is made possible through fins on the aluminum part of the shelter. The shelter's floor is made from tread plate. The doors of the shelter will slide and opened automatically whenever a bus arrived. The connecting elevated bridge slope is made gentle (with some exceptions like the one on Bunderan HI shelter) to accommodate the disabled. The floor of the bridge is also using tread plate (with some exceptions like the ones in Jelambar dan Bendungan Hilir shelter which are made from concrete).
The opening hours of the shelters are 05:00 – 22:00. If until 22:00 there are still passengers left inside the shelter because of operational technical difficulties, the operating hours will be extended to accommodate them.
To be able to enters the shelter, after buying a single trip ticket (in form of a smart card), a passenger need to enter the ticket into the slot available on one of the ticket barrier, then the turnstile barrier will let the passenger through.
Starting from November 1, 2004, a prepaid multitrip ticketing system already available. A passenger can buy a special ticket with desired initial value (@Rp. 3500, minimum initial and future purchase is 10 trip unit) at Blok M shelter. Rather than inserted into a barrier's slot, the ticket is placed on top of the sensor located at the top of the ticket barrier, the machine will then subtract the balance, display the remaining trip units, and finally let the passenger pass through. Refill of the trip units can be done on all of the Corridor I shelters.
The advantage of using this kind of ticket is, a passenger doesn't need to join the queue in front of the locket each time s/he want to use TransJakarta, while the disadvantage is the passenger will not be able to take benefit from early morning special fare available on single trip ticket purchase.
Free daily internal bulletins 'Trans Kota' are occasionaly available at selected shelters. The contents are usually ranging from common, sport, showbiz, crime, health, various tips and tricks, current consumptive goods infos, TransJakarta news, etc.
At jalan Jalan Gadjah Mada, Jakarta Pusat, had been already built a special gigantic shelter. It is called Harmoni Central Busway (HCB). The shelter is built on top of Ciliwung river and a transit point between corridor I, II, and III. This 500 people shelter has 6 doors. Although many trees had to be sacrificed during the construction of TransJakarta, an old banyan tree was not chopped down because considered rich in historical value. However on October 2006, this tree was vandalized by people from a religious group known as Pemuda Persatuan Islam. Their motive was to show that the tree does not posses supernatural qualities as believed by some people.
[edit] Passenger
The passengers of TransJakarta buses come from different backgrounds; Expatriate excecutives, employees, peddlers, housewives and their children are among them.
During rush hours, people from upper middle classes, one of the main targets of TransJakarta, usually prefer to use private cars or taxis to avoid inconvinience in the overcrowded TransJakarta buses altough it means they have to bear the traffic jam in the regular lines.
They are discouraged to use the service because the buses are overcrowded with lower middle class people who mostly are ex-users of other (less comfortable and/or more expensive) commercial buses.
This fact is contradictive with one of the initial objective of TransJakarta, which is to reduce traffic jam during rush hours by persuading private car owners to use comfortable public transport.
According it's official website, from February 2004 until the end of March 2005, it is reported that TransJakarta had carry 20,508,898 passengers.
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.
There is a special program for the student groups called Transjakarta goes to school. The participants of this program will be assigned with a dedicated bus. The target is to train these students to stand in line, be decent, and prefer public transport than personal vehicles.
[edit] Fare
The cost of TransJakarta ticket is Rp. 3,500 (December 2006) per trip. Passenger who change direction or moved to another corridor will not need to pay again as long as they do not exit the shelter. For passengers who buy ticket between 05:00 - 07:00, they will charged with a lower rate per ticket (Rp. 2000).
There was a plan to raise the ticket price from Rp. 3,500 to Rp. 5,000 at 1Q of 2007. The reasons for the increment are:
- The scope of the route had greatly increased
- As the ridership grown, the subsidy needed has become increasingly larger
- The current rate is barely enough to cover the maintenance and operating cost, resulting in low profit margin
- The current rate caused an unfair competition with existing public transports, which up until now, still needed to support the operation of TransJakarta
- The number of passengers who moved between corridors (doing free transit) is already far exceeding the initial projection and has become a serious financial burden
This plan had been stirring negative reactions, some feel that their right to get a cheap and comfortable transportation will be reduced, there are also people who complained about the lack of other alternatives since some of the alternative public transport routes has been eliminated or rerouted during the operation of TransJakarta.
However, there are also some who support this policy. They hope that price increment, will the reduce the over-abundant amount of people who use TransJakarta, hence safety and comfort would be improved. Some alternative public transport drivers also hopes that this price increment will bring back their ex-customers to them.
The plan was postponed until the impact assessment commisioned by the operator and government is finished.
[edit] Line
The line open for the first time is Corridor I along 12,9 km that serves Blok M-Kota.
[edit] Corridor I (Red Bus)
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[edit] Corridor II (Blue Bus)
Corridor II (Pulogadung-Harmoni)started operation on January 15, 2006.
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[edit] Corridor III (Yellow Bus)
Corridor III (Kalideres-Harmoni) started operation on January 15, 2006.
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[edit] Corridor IV (Gray Bus)
Corridor IV (Pulo Gadung-Dukuh Atas) started operation on January 27, 2007.
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[edit] Corridor V
Corridor V (Kampung Melayu-Ancol) started operation on January 27, 2007.
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[edit] Corridor VI
Corridor VI (Ragunan-Kuningan) started operation on January 27, 2007.
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[edit] Corridor VII
Corridor VII (Kampung Rambutan-Kampung Melayu) started operation on January 27, 2007.
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[edit] Future corridors
Line 8 Pondok Indah - Harmoni Central Busway Length (km): 18Km
Line 9 Cililitan - Pluit Length (km): 15Km
Line 10 Cililitan -Tanjung Priok Length (km): 15 Km
Line 11 Kampung Melayu - Pulo Gebang Length (km): 15 Km
All new lines will be constructed in 2007 and operational in 2008. Jakarta City Administration is committed to run a total of 15 busway corridors by 2010.
[edit] External links
- (Indonesian) Official website
