Bus rapid transit system as a potent agent for transit-oriented development: A study of Transjakarta passengers’ mode shift

Abstract

Recently there has been discussions on the role of bus rapid (BRT) transit in transit-oriented development (TOD). This article explores a feature of bus rapid transit within the framework of TOD’s principle of developing built environment and transit systems that trigger its citizens to shift from using private motorised vehicle to using transit system for daily mobility. This article explores Transjakarta BRT’s ability to trigger mode shift from doing other way of travelling to using Transjakarta. This article was written through a descriptive-qualitative research using inductive reasoning. Mode shift data was collected through indirect interview using online questionnaire. Other way of travelling prior to using Transjakarta was asked to Transjakarta passengers. Detailed information regarding the passengers’ background and the type of trips the passengers are doing was also gathered. The data was processed using simple statistical analysis and Bartlett’s test for distribution variance. This article finds that Transjakarta is able to trigger mode shift among its passengers. Furthermore, Transjakarta is even able to trigger mode shift from using private motorised vehicle to using Transjakarta. The ability to trigger mode shift is relatively homogenous across all groups of Transjakarta passengers. This article proposes an alternate approach in evaluating a rapid transit system within the framework of TOD, that is evaluating its ability in triggering mode shift.