Medan-Binjai-Deli Serdang Rapid Transit Bus Begins to Be Built, Public Transportation Still Minimal

"BRT Medan is not just an infrastructure project that is a physical development, but also a soft development that guarantees the reliability and comfort of public transportation services," said Director of Road Transport at the Directorate General of Land Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation, Suharto, Saturday (20 /4/2024).

In the Mefeld area, said Suharto, there are a total of 386,727 commuters every day. Medan is the biggest destination for these commuters' activities.

Of that number, 69 percent of them are of productive age. As many as two-thirds of commuters are workers.

Suharto said that the construction of the BRT was part of the central government's program, the Indonesia Mass Transit Project (MASTRAN). This program facilitates cities' critical needs for mobility and improving people's living standards, especially in road-based mass transit systems.

This project will be built in the Bandung Basin Metropolitan area (BBMA) and Mebesar.

Physical development includes the construction of special lanes (corridors), BRT stops, special pedestrian facilities, terminals and depots, as well as the development of smart transportation system (ITS).

Its development also includes non-physical aspects, namely improving the capacity of service provider operators, providing job opportunities in the supporting service sectors, and absorbing female workers.

"We appreciate the strong commitment of the local government in Mebidang that wants to immediately develop good, reliable, safe, and comfortable public transportation to support the mobility of its citizens," said Suharto.

The Head of the North Sumatra Transportation Agency, Agustinus, stated that Mebidang is a growing metropolitan area. However, the area has limited urban mass transportation infrastructure. The lack of integrated public transportation makes its use very minimal.

Also read: Trans-Metro Deli, a New Culture of Public Transportation in Medan

"At present, the use of public transportation in Medan is less than 20 percent, similar to other big cities in Indonesia. This figure is far below Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo which are already above 50 percent. Even Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok are already in the range of 20-50 percent," said Suharto.

Mayor of Medan City Bobby A Nasution stated that the urgency of providing reliable and comfortable public transportation modes in the Mebidang area is very pressing.

”With the construction of MASTRAN Mefeld BRT, we can facilitate the social and economic activities of the community. "The regional potential in the Mefeld area can develop optimally," said Bobby.

Amplas Depot will be the first departure point for the MASTRAN BRT fleet on the Amplas–Pinang Baris route. Apart from Amplas, there will be another depot in Pinang Baris and a supporting depot in Flamboyan.

Chairman of the North Sumatra Indonesian Road Development Association, Burhan Batubara, said that the addition of the BRT corridor must be followed by various policies of the Medan City Government and North Sumatra Provincial Government so that people want to move from private vehicles to public transportation (Kompas.id,8/9/2023) .

Currently, the city of Medan is served by Trans Metro Deli buses that operate on five corridors within the city of Medan. In addition, there is also the Mebidang Bus that serves Binjai-Medan-Lubuk Pakam.

However, the occupancy rate is still low. Buses without passengers are a very common sight in Medan. However, motorcycles and private cars crowd the roads.

Burhan suggests that the Medan city government needs to improve several aspects in order to increase the number of public transportation users. This can be done through increasing frequency of trips, improving services, implementing competitive fares, expanding feeder transportation, and making it easier to access services.

"The most important thing is to avoid policies that favor private vehicle users, such as building parking lots in the middle of the city and offering cheap parking rates," said Burhan.

Amidst the central government's efforts to vigorously build a mass transportation network, according to Burhan, the Medan City government is actually building a very large underground parking area in Merdeka Medan Square.

However, the roads around Lapangan Merdeka Medan are actually transit-oriented development (TOD) areas. Currently, the circular road around Lapangan Merdeka serves as an intermodal and intramodal transit facility.

Also read: 551 Buses Prepared for 17 Medan BRT Corridors