Jakartans seeking to check out the new Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) railway system will have a week to go in rides without having to pay for tickets.
Read also: Our first impressions of Jakarta’s MRT: A fast, quiet, and smooth ride aboard the ‘Ratangga’
The MRT, which is scheduled to be inaugurated by President Joko Widodo on March 24, does not yet have its tariff finalized. In the meantime, MRT rides will be free for a week, during which time the new trains won’t be operating at its full capacity.
“[MRT] will continue to operate, Jakarta citizens can still ride it for free until March 31 until 4 pm each day. Trains will continue to run until nighttime but passengers can’t use it outside the specified time. It will open commercially starting from April 1,” Jakarta Govenor Anies Baswedan told reporters yesterday, as quoted by Kompas.
Anies said the city administration and the Jakarta City Council (DPRD) have agreed to a fare of IDR1,000 (US$0.07) per kilometer, which should amount to around IDR15,000 for a ride on the MRT’s first line running north-south from Lebak Bulus to Bundaran HI stations. The agreement is set to be ratified on Monday, or a day after the inauguration.
After the inauguration on Sunday, President Jokowi is also going to break ground on the construction of Phase II of the MRT, which will run from Bundaran HI in Central Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta.
