
Jakarta (; Indonesian pronunciation: [dʒaˈkarta] , Betawi: Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (Indonesian: Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) and formerly Batavia, is the capital and largest metropolis of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta is the largest metropole in Southeast Asia, and serves as the diplomatic capital of ASEAN. Jakarta is bordered by two Sundanese provinces: West Java to the south and east; and, since 2000, Banten to the west. Its coastline faces the Java Sea to the north, and it shares a maritime border with Lampung to the west.
Open spaces[edit | edit source]
In June 2011, Jakarta had only 10.5% green open spaces (Ruang Terbuka Hijau), although this grew to 13.94%. Public parks are included in public green open spaces. There are about 300 integrated child-friendly public spaces (RPTRA) in the city in 2019. As of 2014, 183 water reservoirs and lakes supported the greater Jakarta area.
Sustainable transport[edit | edit source]
As a metropolitan area of about 30 million people, Jakarta has a variety of transport systems. Jakarta was awarded 2021 global Sustainable Transport Award (STA) for integrated public transportation system.
The city prioritized development of road networks, which were mostly designed to accommodate private vehicles. A notable feature of Jakarta's present road system is the toll road network. Composed of an inner and outer ring road and five toll roads radiating outwards, the network provides inner as well as outer city connections. An 'odd-even' policy limits road use to cars with either odd or even-numbered registration plates on a particular day as a transitional measure to alleviate traffic congestion until the future introduction of electronic road pricing.
There are many bus terminals in the city, from where buses operate on numerous routes to connect neighborhoods within the city limit, to other areas of Greater Jakarta and to cities across the island of Java. The biggest of the bus terminal is Pulo Gebang Bus Terminal, which is arguably the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia. Main terminus for long distance train services are Gambir and Pasar Senen. High-speed railways being constructed connecting Jakarta to Bandung and another one is at the planning stage from Jakarta to Surabaya.
As of September 2022, Jakarta's public transport service coverage has reached 86 percent, which is targeted to Increase to 95 percent. Rapid transit in Greater Jakarta consists of TransJakarta bus rapid transit, Jakarta LRT, Jakarta MRT, KRL Commuterline, Jabodebek LRT, and Soekarno-Hatta Airport Rail Link. The city administration is building transit oriented development like Dukuh Atas TOD and CSW-ASEAN TOD in several area across Jakarta to facilitate commuters to transfer between different mode of public transportation.
Privately owned bus systems like Kopaja, MetroMini, Mayasari Bakti and PPD also provide important services for Jakarta commuters with numerous routes throughout the city. Pedicabs are banned from the city for causing traffic congestion. Bajaj auto rickshaw provide local transportation in the back streets of some parts of the city. Angkot microbuses also play a major role in road transport of Jakarta. Taxicabs and ojeks (motorcycle taxis) are available in the city. As of January 2023, about 2.6 million people use public transportation daily in Jakarta.
TransJakarta[edit | edit source]
TransJakarta (stylised as transjakarta, often erroneously called Busway) or Jakarta BRT is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta, Indonesia. The first BRT system in Southeast Asia, it commenced operations on 15 January 2004 to provide a fast public transport system to help reduce rush hour traffic. The system is considered as the first revolutionary public transit mode in the capital city of Indonesia. The buses run in dedicated lanes (busways), and ticket prices are subsidised by the regional government. TransJakarta has the world's longest BRT system (251.2 km in length), which operates about 4,300 buses. As of February 2020, it serves an average of 1.006 million passengers daily.
As of September 2019, Transjakarta is currently testing electric buses, with Bundaran Senayan – Monas as its first route. Transjakarta has undertaken an ambitious plan to expand its electric bus (e-bus) fleet to 10,000 units over the decade.
Environment and livability challenges[edit | edit source]
Jakarta suffers from severe problems of environment and livability:
- Air pollution, due not only to vehicles, but a culture of burning waste, including leaves and other matter which could be composted, as well as plastics which release toxins when burned.
- Severe traffic congestion for most of the day. Traffic does not flow smoothly until after around 10pm on weekdays.
- Poor public transport.
- Jakarta is sometimes described as the world's largest city without a "metro" style rapid transit rail system.
- Trains operate in limited areas. Until recently these have been unreliable and very crowded. Recently, however, a revamped timetable in July 2011 is simplified (from 3 classes into 2, scrapping express trains) and much more frequent.
- The busway system (Trans Jakarta, similar in concept to Curitiba transportation) has developed much more slowly than planned, and has inadequate buses for the passenger load, resulting in delays and overcrowding. At many bust stops, passengers wait at open doors above the busy roadway, with no safety barrier.
- Flooding
- Subsidence of land due to extraction of groundwater
- Pollution of groundwater due to the
- Littering, which also aggravates flooding problems by blocking drains.
- Corruption - diversion of allocated funds makes solving any of the other problems much more difficult.
See also[edit | edit source]
- Lantan Bentala - an environmental foundation in Jakarta.
External links[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]