🇮🇩 Jakarta · Getting around
Transport and the shape of the city in Jakarta
One MRT line that has genuinely changed its corridor, a commuter rail network, and traffic that governs everything else.
The thing people get wrongJakarta is not a city you can judge by distance. A five-kilometre commute can take ten minutes or seventy depending on the hour and the direction, so test your actual route at your actual commuting time before signing anything.
MRT, LRT and commuter rail
The MRT's north–south line runs from Lebak Bulus up through Blok M to the Hotel Indonesia roundabout, and it is fast, clean and transformative for the corridor it serves — rents along it reflect that. The LRT serves other corridors, and the KRL Commuterline reaches far into the surrounding cities and is what most of Greater Jakarta actually uses. Extensions are under construction; check what has opened rather than what is planned.
- MRT north–south is the line that matters for most central addresses.
- KRL Commuterline is cheap, extensive and very crowded at peak.
- A single stored-value card works across several of the systems.
TransJakarta
The bus rapid transit network is extensive, runs in dedicated lanes on the main corridors and is very cheap. On the corridors where the lane is genuinely separated it beats a car comfortably; where it is not, it sits in the same traffic as everyone else.
- Dedicated-lane corridors are fast; mixed-traffic sections are not.
- Flat, very low fare with a stored-value card.
- Coverage is far wider than the rail network.
Ride-hailing and the motorbike
Gojek and Grab are the backbone of daily life — cars, motorbike taxis, food, parcels and payments in one app. The ojek, the motorbike taxi, is not a novelty but a serious transport mode: it is the only thing that moves reliably in a jam, and it is how most short journeys actually happen. Helmets are provided.
- Gojek and Grab for cars, bikes, food and payments.
- The motorbike taxi is the fastest option in traffic, by a wide margin.
- Fares are transparent in-app; street haggling is not necessary.
Driving
Driving yourself is uncommon among new arrivals and a driver is a normal, affordable arrangement for families. Note the odd–even licence-plate restriction on many central roads on weekdays, which determines which days a given car can use them, and factor parking into any building comparison.
- Odd–even plate restrictions apply on major roads at peak times on weekdays.
- A driver is a common arrangement and priced monthly.
- An Indonesian licence follows from a permit; an international permit covers a short period.
- Parking is charged per bay per month in apartment buildings.
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