Monday 10 June 2013

Jakarta by Bus

Thursday was a national holiday so that meant a day off and a chance to relax. Indonesia has a lot of public holidays that fall in the week and the closer they are to a weekend the less people in the city. Knowing,  it was time to ride the bus.

I am not a fan of the bus but I do take them sometimes as they can be quicker to move around the city and they are cheaper. I only take the TransJakarta buses as I feel they are relatively safe compared to anything else on offer in the city.

To get to the nearest busway shelter, Pancoran Barat, I have to take an Ojek through the backstreets to the main road. It costs 7,000 and takes about 5 minutes.

The pricing of Ojek, Bajai and Mikrolet or Angkot vary hugely wherever you are. I pay 7,000 for the motorbike taxi to get to the Busway. That never changes. I pay 12,000 for the Bajai from Giant to my home, although it can be 10 if with my wife. The blue mini van or bus that rides around the area is 2,000 flat fee regardless of how far you go and it runs from the Zoo to RCTI studios at Mampang. TransJakarta Bus is 3,500 flat fee as well and you can ride all over the city as long as you dont get out from the busway for that price.

So on Thursday we took the bus to Semanggi to do some shopping. The bus took about 20 minutes to get there and the total price for the trip there was 10,500 idr each. The taxi back (because its more complicated getting back) was 30,000 and took 30 minutes.

A rather quick trip on the bus, but the best thing about the busway are the views from the bridges themselves as they offer glimpses into different parts of the city that are not often seen. I must take some more bus trips and take more photos.


 A building site just starting up and the chance to play with cranes and large blocks
 Inside the shelter
 Looking at a local bike accessory store
 A view of Sudirman looking south
 The toll looking west at Semanggi
 The toll looking east
 The unseen waterfall wall at the Crowne hotel
Out front of the hotel is an Electricity sub station garden with plants and 250,000KV

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