After the launch of the Jakarta MRT earlier this year, another new rail-based public transportation option is on track to begin commercial operation in the near future, with LRT Jakarta beginning its free public trial today.
The first phase of the LRT (which stands for Lintas Raya Terpadu), stretches over a rather short route of 5.8 km.
To familiarise people with the new transportation option, all five LRT stations will be operating during the trial run: Boulevard Utara (North Boulevard) and Boulevard Selatan (South Boulevard) in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta; Pulomas, Equestrian, and Velodrome in East Jakarta. During the trial, trains will be operating from 5.30am to 11pm daily, with 10-minute headways.
Berikut jadwal keberangkatan kereta Uji Publik LRT Jakarta, berangkat setiap 10 menit sekali dari jam 5.30 – 23.00 WIB.
Kamu mau berangkat dari stasiun mana, Sahabat ?
Cek yuk jadwal berikut!#LRTJakarta #LRTJkt #AyoNaikLRTJ #UjiPublikLRTJ pic.twitter.com/g4gami3cW2— LRT Jakarta (@lrtjkt) June 11, 2019
The free public trial will run until June 21 and passengers may register for their free rides by filling out their personal data and chosen date on LRT Jakarta’s official website. After registration, passengers will receive their e-tickets via email.
In a written statement published on Sunday, PT LRT Jakarta’s corporate communication manager Melisa Suciati said passengers only need to bring a printed or soft copy of their e-ticket to any station in exchange for their Single Journey Trip (SJT) ticket.
“The e-ticket will be validated by our officers at the station’s ticket counter to be exchanged with the SJT as the passengers’ access the paid area and travel using LRT Jakarta. When they arrive at their destination station, the SJT should be returned to the officers at the exit gate,” Melisa said in the statement, as quoted by Tirto yesterday.
The free trial has several terms and conditions. The e-tickets are only valid once for one person, but one email address can be used for multiple registrations. R-ticket can only be used on the user’s chosen date.
“Children below three-year-old are not required for registration, and officers have the right to decide whether or not to allow applicants who do not meet the terms and conditions,” Melisa continued.
The date for the commercial launch of LRT Jakarta has not yet been set by the government. Back in March, the standard fare for the LRT was set at IDR 5,000 (US$ 0.35).
LRT Jakarta’s operation has been delayed multiple times. Authorities previously promised that it would begin operating in time for the start of the Asian Games in August of last year. After missing the Asian Games deadline, the new completion date was for December, which they also missed. Then, after the authorities failed to meet the December deadline, they promised to start public operation in February of this year.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan previously said he didn’t want to hurry the launch date for the LRT because he wanted to make sure that the light rail transport was fully ready before serving the public.
The LRT previously did limited trial runs with Jak Lingko angkot (public minivan) passengers back in March, as shown in this video below:
