Public bus in Jakarta

I took the public bus in Jakarta. It is air-conditioned. I was able to get a seat, as it was during the office hours and there were not many passengers. The fare is 3,000 rupiah (SGD 0.50) for a 30 minute trip.

A few street musicians were in the bus singing songs. They pass the hat around for donations by the passengers. Most passengers give 500 rupiah (SGD 0.10).

Busway in Jakarta

I took the busway in Jakarta. It was an interesting experience - quite different from what I thought it would be.

The busway run on a dedicated lane on the road. The other lanes used by private cars are congested and slow. The bus run quite fast on the busway.

The passenger pays the fare before entering the station, similar to the MRT system in Singapore. A fixed fare of 3,500 rupiah (SGD 0.70) applies for each trip, regardless of distance.
You can change to another bus at an interchange station.

The buses are crowded, similar to the MRT trains in Singapore.

The busway is a low cost way of implementing rapid transit. It uses bus instead of trains.

Increase in fares for public transport

There are several articles and views from the public in this blog:

www.theonlinecitizen.com

Free public transport in 20 cities

Somebody said that 20 cities provide free public transport. Can readers help me to identify these cities, and the scope of their free transport:

> area covered
> how is the cost funded
> quality of service.

Adolf Hitller complains about the ERP and MRT

By courtesy of Loh Hon Chun:

Even Adolf Hitler complains about the ERP and MRT in Singapore.
http://hongjun.blogspot.com/2008/09/hitler-complaining-about-erp-and-mrt.html

Free bicycles and bus rides

Some cities offer free shuttle service within the central area. Some offer free bicycles that the public can use.

The cost of the free service is borne by the city through taxation. People are not likely to abuse free transport. They do not take transport for fun. It is necessary for work or to visit places.

I believe that a system of free public transport is efficient and useful. There is no need to worry about collecting fares and have gates and fences.

It is free to walk on the runs. It can be made free to take a shuttle bus or train. We only need to treat it as a social cost.

Free public transport during Beijing Olympics

My friend visited Beijing for the Olypmpics. The visitors, with the Olympic pass, were able to get free transport in Beijing. This makes it convenient for them. It adds to the wonderful experience.

Over-crowded trains

Our SMRT trains are over-crowded most times of the day and night. Passengers like to stay near the door, as they will find it difficult to get down the train, if they move inside the carriages. It is difficult for other passengers to get up or down the train, as they have to squeeze through these passengers crowding near the doorway.

I hope that the Public Transport Council will mandate that SMRT should run more trains, so that they are not so crowded. It is possible to use a benchmark based on the ratio between trains and passengers. In my view, the average occupancy should be 75%, based on passengers and train capacity (i.e number of trains X passenger per train).

If the average capacity is 75%, the trains should be 100% full during the busy hours and 50% full during the off-peak hours. At present, I suspect that the average capacity is closer to 85%, which leads to over-crowded trains.

As another indicator, I do not get the chance to have a sit for more than 80% of the trips that I take, even during the off-peak hours.

Reduce commuting

I wish to encourage people to live near their place of work or to work near their homes. This will reduce the time spent on commuting and will lead to a better quality of life.

My views are contained in this article:
http://www.tankinlian.com/articles/sustain.html