JAKARTA: Jakarta’s public transport may be increasingly accessible, but for people with disabilities, the journey can become difficult before they even reach the station, as broken sidewalks and obstructed pathways cut off access.
At South Jakarta’s Cikoko Light Rapid Transit (LRT) station, a major interchange connecting the LRT, commuter line and several TransJakarta routes, tactile paving runs throughout the integrated complex. Guiding blocks line platforms and fare gates, while elevators connect the different levels.
Step outside the complex, however, and that accessibility chain breaks. Novian, 20, a longtime tea vendor at the exit of Cawang commuter line station, which connects directly to Cikoko LRT station, said he had never seen a person with disability navigate the area. “There’s a tree right there in the middle of [the sidewalk],” he said, pointing to a crowded walkway obstructed by street vendors and parked motorcycles.
For Dhea Erissa, 33, who needs a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, reaching public transport is an obstacle in itself. The nearest TransJakarta bus stop is two to three kilometres from her home, and the sidewalks leading there are riddled with steps and winding paths.
To reach the LRT, she must first take an online taxi. Dhea said relying fully on public transport is unrealistic because of the many barriers along the way, including pedestrian bridges she cannot climb without assistance.
She recalled traveling in Japan and Singapore, where she rarely needed a taxi and could get around independently. In Jakarta, she said, “It’s not possible to travel by public transport that smoothly.”
The disconnect persists even as Jakarta celebrates its 15th-place ranking in Time Out’s global public transport survey, in which 79.2 per cent of respondents rated the city’s network positively.
A 2022 study by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) found that more than 90 percent of Jakarta residents lived within 500 meters of a public transport stop or station. But proximity does not necessarily translate into accessibility, said Deliani Siregar, ITDP’s deputy director.
“An accessible station does not necessarily mean an accessible journey if people with disabilities still encounter disconnected sidewalks, obstructed tactile paving or unsafe crossings,” she said. “Satisfaction surveys of existing riders cannot fully capture the experiences of people who are unable to use the system in the first place.”
David Tjahjana, an accessibility adviser at the Indonesian National Accessibility Movement (GAUN), says the system was working for those it already served, but that was not enough.
“For non-disabled people and the energetic younger generation working in the city centre, facilities that are functional and aesthetic may meet their expectations,” he noted. “But for vulnerable groups, especially the disabled, there must be an additional requirement: ease of accessibility.”
David said accessibility could not be measured by individual facilities alone. The entire journey must form a continuous chain that allows people with disabilities to travel independently, from their homes to their destinations.
Achieving that requires coordination among at least seven agencies and asset owners, including the Bina Marga road agency, the Transportation Agency, public transport operators and utility companies. Yet no single coordinator is responsible for ensuring that the entire chain works, David said, pointing to what he called sectoral ego.
The Jakarta administration has acknowledged coordination problems. At Rasuna Said in South Jakarta, two pedestrian bridges stood meters apart without being connected. The older bridge also lacked a lift, limiting access for people with disabilities.
Governor Pramono Anung ordered the older bridge demolished after the issue went viral, saying it was not friendly to people with disabilities.
Pramono’s special staffer for communications Cyril “Chico” Hakim said the two bridges reflected “past coordination gaps” between government institutions and state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI). He pledged more coordinated measures “under the Governor’s direction”.
For David, however, the broader challenge remains extending accessibility beyond the transport network itself to the streets connecting people to it.
“The bus already covers 90 per cent of the city,” he said. “But the sidewalk is still the homework to be done, for now that 90 per cent cannot be enjoyed by everyone.” - The Straits Times/ANN
