Putting Jakarta on the right track: how Japanese tech is transforming a megacity

Jakarta has long been one of the world's top three most congested cities. Now, thanks to Japanese technology and expertise, there is a another way to get around this megacity of 30 million people.

Jakarta native Muhammad Iqbal no longer dreads the daily commute to work. He has ditched his motorbike and the city’s roads and now takes the Mass Rapid Transit system, or MRT, instead.

“The MRT really helps me in shortening my travel time so that I always arrive at the office on time. Besides that, I also have a new habit with my family. Now, every weekend, I take my wife and children for an outing to the city forest located in the centre of Jakarta, using the MRT,” Muhammad says.

The first line opened in 2019 and stretches almost 16 kilometre linking southern Jakarta to the centre.

A two-hour journey by car now takes eighteen minutes by train. The line has been praised by commuters for its punctuality and for reducing stress. It was made possible thanks to an 'All Japan' approach. The light, energy-efficient trains, technology and expertise came from Japan, along with loans.

Honzu Shigeo, a senior representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Indonesia, told Euronews: “In Jakarta, as the population increased, so did the number of vehicles. This caused traffic jams and air pollution. To address this situation, the Indonesian government decided to use Japanese technology and know-how to develop a public transport system for Jakarta.”

Millions of passengers are already using the metro every year - even during the pandemic. Travel habits are changing, with more people also now walking and cycling. According to analysis by the University of Indonesia, emissions have already been cut by 18 percent.

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