2021: Jakarta, Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia, a city of 10 million, whose transport network serves 30 million in the greater city area, is the winner of the 2021 Sustainable Transport Award.
Jakarta’s win is the culmination of years of groundbreaking work and transformation by the city. The city has taken concrete steps to shift its car-oriented city planning paradigm and provide seamless mobility through the “Jak Lingko” scheme, an interconnected transit trip for the passenger. They are beginning with fare integration that allows passengers a three-hour window with one flat fare for road-based transit and that will be expanded to rail. The city is also improving physical integration between modes. These help with transferring between modes, reducing the cost for people with complicated trips, and has resulted in a substantial increase to 83 percent in service coverage of frequent, rapid road-based transit and increased ridership on both informal transit and BRT. Jakarta has also been leading in bringing cycling to the streets, repurposing space for cars to spaces for people, and implementing one of the first superblocks in Southeast Asia.
Jak Lingko- one flat rate and three-hour window to travel
The city of Jakarta has shifted its car-oriented city planning paradigm through the “Jak Lingko” scheme, which envisions complete mobility integration within the city, including traffic reduction measures. As the start of the future full network integration, the city has begun with fare integration, improving connectivity between 5 national-owned intercity train stations to metro and Transjakarta stations, with 44 more stations to follow, and upgrading first-last mile connections to transit. For example, at a high volume transfer between commuter rail and the metro, a road was converted into a pedestrian-only tunnel, allowing 5,000 pedestrians in the peak hour to transfer safely and with ease. Investments in the walking environment have resulted in 205 kilometers of sidewalks being built. The city is also working to provide at grade access options to TransJakarta, instead of forcing pedestrians to use pedestrian bridges which can add 14 times the distance for pedestrians. In an effort to be more inclusive and address concerns of vulnerable communities, the city is also applying a participatory approach for these improvements to understand what are the priorities for the community. For example, in upgrading access around a transit station, by working with women of the community, they found the biggest concern was safety for school children in the area, and the investments in upgrading reflect those concerns. Finally, with the goal of integrating cycling into the transit network, a pilot bike-sharing system with 120 bikes and 6 stations was implemented, bike parking was built at some transit stations, and a 63 km bicycle lane was established.
A Focus on Cycling
Not only has the city invested in pilots for cycling, but it is planning a 500-kilometer cycling network. A 200 km long protected bicycle lane is currently being developed and will be committed in a Governor Decree this year.
As in most cities around the world, cycling during the coronavirus has taken off with significant growth this year and the city’s investment in pop-up bike lanes. During June and July, as Jakarta has begun to ease its large-scale social restrictions, cycling in the city increased by 500% citywide. In high-volume travel areas, such as near Dukuh Atas station along Jl. Sudirman, ridership grew by 1,000%. While this was an emergency response, the city-backed it up with policy. During the social restrictions in place during the spring, the city of Jakarta issued Governor Regulation No. 51 of 2020 Article 21 which states: “all road segments are prioritized for pedestrians and bicycle transport users as a means of daily mobility for accessible distances”. With the regulation, pop-up bike lane programs and providing bike parking became the main element to accelerate the city’s vision as a bike-friendly city.
“The public enthusiasm for cycling in Jakarta should be a wake-up call for municipal governments everywhere that just building for cars is no longer good enough,” says Heather Thompson, ITDP CEO. “Whether it’s a pandemic, a climate-change related weather event, or an air quality crisis, Jakarta’s success shows us the value of having all options for transit available to keep the city moving.” Thanks to the groundwork already being laid, the city was able to quickly scale up cycling capacity to meet the moment. They opened up two major roads, Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin, with a “pop-up” bicycle lane, giving priority to cyclists in a highly car-oriented city.
Thompson continued, “The bicycle can be a tool for a movement that allows for distance from others and doesn’t contribute to already breathtaking traffic congestion. This period of such change offers an opportunity for improvements and a shift to a new normal that must be more equitable and more sustainable than before. We are thrilled to celebrate Jakarta over this next year, and we hope to inspire cities around the world to follow in their footsteps.”
Learn more about Jakarta’s journey with this case study report prepared by the City of Jakarta and ITDP, with assistance from TUMI: “Lessons Learned from Jakarta’s Journey to an Integrated and Resilient Transport System.”
The case study reflects on Jakarta’s transformation and how it addressed public transport integration, last mile integration with walking and cycling, and innovative uses of parking space. The City of Jakarta also highlights its COVID-19 response and future plans for ever more sustainable and inclusive mobility.
The 2021 STA also celebrated Lviv, Ukraine as an honorable mention. “Lviv – From Streets for Cars to Streets for All,” a case study report co-produced with TUMI, presents lessons learned of Lviv’s transformative journey.
This case study explains how advocacy galvanized public support and political will toward institutionalizing sustainable transport priorities, resulting in new City departments, plans, and projects. It looks forward as Lviv continues transforming into “a city of short distances”, prioritizing people over cars.
