JAKARTA: Roadside snack seller Doddy watches Jakarta’s traffic crawl past his stall. The thought of soaring above the capital in a helicopter makes him laugh.
“Of course, I would love to see Jakarta from above. Everyone down below will look like tiny ants, right?” said the 45-year-old, who sells gorengan, or fried snacks. “My heart might just stop from the excitement.”
It might just become a reality as Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung wants TransJakarta, the city’s public bus operator, to venture into boat services and eventually air transport.
Launched in 2004, TransJakarta is known for its extensive bus network and standard fares of 3,500 rupiah (US$0.20). It recorded 329.2 million passenger journeys in the first nine months of 2026 and is projected to reach 438.5 million for the full year, according to the Jakarta provincial administration.
Proposed changes to TransJakarta’s governing regulations would allow it to expand into sea and air transport, while raising its authorised capital from 5.225 trillion rupiah to 13.4 trillion rupiah.
On the possibility of air transport, Pramono, speaking to reporters on Oct 4, said that Jakarta has 11 million residents, with the population of the wider metropolitan area reaching 42 million. He said: “It is inconceivable for a metropolitan area of this size not to have air transport.”
He added that air transport plans were part of the city’s medium- to long-term plans, but he has yet to specify what aircraft might eventually be used.
He did raise helicopters as a possibility, citing New York, which he recently visited, as an example of a city already regulating air transport. He said Jakarta should put in place the necessary rules and permits before such services become necessary.
Aisah, a 38-year-old administrative worker in Jakarta, was intrigued. “No more rushing during peak hours? That would be wow,” she exclaimed.
“If you had asked me 10 years ago, I would have said it was impossible. But now we have the MRT, so nothing seems impossible. TransJakarta already has an efficient bus network, so expanding its services to the air and sea could be a good next step,” she added.
Another commuter, Sheila, a 28-year-old marketing executive, was sceptical.
She noted: “It would certainly be a glamorous way to get to work. But how many passengers can a helicopter carry, and how much would a ticket cost? Surely, it cannot be the same cheap fare we pay for a TransJakarta bus ride.”
Flying high, paying more
Proposed changes to TransJakarta’s governing regulations would allow it to expand into sea and air transport, while raising its authorised capital from 5.225 trillion rupiah to 13.4 trillion rupiah.
Private helicopter services already operate in Jakarta, but at prices far beyond an ordinary bus fare.
The rates at Whitesky Aviation, which offers helicopter charters and city transfers, start at about 32 million rupiah an hour for smaller helicopters, its chief commercial officer Ari Nurwanda told local news website Detikcom in August 2025.
In February 2025, a video of Siloam Hospitals chief executive Caroline Riady boarding a helicopter from a rooftop helipad went viral.
She later told local newspaper Kompas that she rarely travelled by helicopter and that the aircraft was mainly used to transport emergency patients. Her home and workplace in Karawaci, on Jakarta’s outskirts, were only five minutes apart.
But transport expert Deddy Herlambang questions whether helicopters make financial sense for a city trying to improve mass transport.
“It makes no sense to use helicopters as mass public transport, like public minibuses, because large helicopters are extremely expensive,” stressed Deddy, a senior researcher at Strategic Transport Initiatives.
“The money would be better spent purchasing more TransJakarta non-BRT buses,” he said, referring to buses which run on ordinary roads rather than dedicated bus lanes, extending the network beyond its main corridors.
Separately, aviation authorities across the Asia-Pacific are preparing for electric flying taxis, although Jakarta has not announced plans to use them.
Known as electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, or eVTOLs, they are being developed for short-distance passenger services. In July 2025, civil aviation authorities from 24 Asia-Pacific states and administrations, including Indonesia and Singapore, jointly developed reference materials to help regulate commercial air-taxi and drone operations.
Boats before flights
When it comes to boat services, TransJakarta will be taking over public boat services to the Thousand Islands, a cluster of islands off Jakarta’s northern coast, by June 2027.
Pramono believes that TransJakarta can run these services more efficiently and cheaply. He said: “Fares will certainly be cheaper if the services are managed professionally, as TransJakarta is doing now.”
On Aug 22, TransJakarta president director Welfizon Yuza joined Jakarta transport officials on a visit to the Thousand Islands to inspect piers and review the existing ferry fleet ahead of the planned takeover.
“We fully understand the high expectations of the people of the Thousand Islands. This directive from the Governor is a responsibility entrusted to us to bridge the distance and ensure equal rights for all Jakarta residents,” Welfizon said in an Aug 23 company statement.
TransJakarta said the takeover should make island travel easier and help local businesses and tourism. The city is also considering setting up a subsidiary to run the boats.
Deddy said Jakarta’s regional budget could afford the expansion into sea transport, but keeping fares low would require subsidies. He suggested 25,000 rupiah to 50,000 rupiah as an affordable fare range for passengers.
The expansion has drawn concerns from Jakarta legislators. During an Oct 7 plenary session of the Jakarta Legislative Council, lawmakers from several political parties questioned the costs and whether TransJakarta should expand beyond its existing bus services.
“The public should not have to pay for this expansion through higher fares or reduced services within the city,” said legislator Francine Widjojo.
Back at his roadside stall, Doddy is not expecting a helicopter ride anytime soon.
“I do not think someone like me would ever get the chance to ride in a helicopter,” he said, laughing. “Maybe the only things of mine that will ever fly are my fried banana and tapioca – as an in-flight snack!” - The Straits Times/ANN
