Suara Pembaruan, Jakarta – Bogor in West Java plans to build a tramway that will be integrated with the Greater Jakarta Light Rail Transit system.

Bogor Deputy Mayor Dedie A. Rachin said the tramway will connect Baranangsiang Terminal with Tugu Kujang, Jalan Paledang, Taman Topi (or Plaza Kapten Muslihat) and Jalan Padjajaran.

"Over the past year, Bogor city has been working on road infrastructure to accommodate the operational needs of the LRT [which is scheduled to be operational] in 23 months," Dedie said on Wednesday.

Vehicles will be accommodated with the construction of Section 3A of the Bogor Outer Ring Road, which will connect with Jalan Semplak, Jalan Dramaga and the Antasari-Depok Toll Road.

Dedie asked Bogor residents to be patient during the construction work, which will inevitably result in traffic congestion.

"You must be patient, because every construction process takes a long time and there will be traffic jams," he said.

The Bogor administration is still waiting for the central government to provide a detailed engineering design of the second phase of the LRT between Bogor and Cibubur in East Jakarta.

The city administration cannot make further plans in the meantime, according to Erna Herawati, head of the Bogor Regional Development Planning Agency.

"We hope the central government completes the detailed engineering design as soon as possible, so that the regional government, not only Bogor city but also Bogor district, can provide further detailed plans that support the LRT," Erna said.

She said besides providing feeders for the tram, the city administration must also provide terminals, sidewalks and parking areas to support the LRT's operational needs.

Mohammad Ishak, head of the Bogor chapter of the Land Transportation Organization (Organda), expressed his support for the city's transportation policies. However, he also wants angkot, or public minivans, to be accommodated.

"There are over 3,000 angkots in Bogor city and twice the number of angkot drivers. The government must pay attention to this. Don't let a new policy [negatively] affect the drivers," he said.

Improving roads

Ishak urged the city administration to not only focus on the development of national or provincial roads, but also to improve the quality of roads in the region so angkots can operate as a convenient feeder for the new public transportation system."The city administration wants us to operate on side roads, but the number of roads has not increased and the quality is still far from provincial or national roads. Just look at Jalan Ciomas or Jalan Cimanggi – they are too narrow. There is no way angkots want to be there," Ishak said.

The Baranangsiang area in East Bogor has been earmarked as the location for an LRT station, with construction scheduled to start next year.

There will also be changes to the city's transportation scheme following a 2019 presidential regulation on the acceleration of the LRT construction.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/context/bogor-set-to-build-a-tramway