ASEANEWS HEADLINE-TRAVEL | JAKARTA. INDONESIA: As the capital approaches 500 years, Jakartans long for a seamless transit city
Commuter train passengers from satellite cities leave the station on Nov. 8, 2024, upon arriving in Jakarta during the morning rush hour. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
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Why Jakarta’s City Planning Failed So Badly
Jakarta, a megacity of 10 million people, is suffocating. It consistently ranks as one of the most congested cities on Earth. This isn’t just “bad traffic”; it’s a total, systemic failure of city planning.
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Jakarta remains marred by longstanding mobility problems, even as the capital turns 499 years old on Monday.
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Z akaria, 24, waited for a less crowded Commuter Line train so he could sit on his trip home to Daru, Banten, from Tanah Abang Station in Central Jakarta.
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He had just transferred from Bekasi, West Java, where he had undergone a hemodialysis session in a hospital, and was feeling too weak to stand through the journey.
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He braces himself for the overcrowded commuter train journey twice a week for his treatment, as crossing three provinces would be highly inconvenient if public transit did not connect cities beyond Jakarta.
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“Going by ambulance is the only alternative, but that’s for emergencies.
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I can only rely on the Commuter Line, while other transport modes don’t reach Daru,” he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
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Zakaria said integrated transport around the capital is essential for patients like him who rely on long-distance mobility for treatment.
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Even reaching Tangerang, the nearest city in Banten, is more difficult for him than traveling to Jakarta or Bekasi.
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“It’s easier to go to Jakarta because it’s faster and more accessible.
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It already feels like Daru is connected to Jakarta,” he said.
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But still he wished that trains bound from Jakarta to Daru were more frequent and more punctual.
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Maretha Uli
The Jakarta Post- PREMIUM
Jakarta
Mon, June 22, 2026
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