Understanding Busway’s Brutal Design

Was Published in Jakarta Post on Sunday August 19, 2007

Regardless of its controversy, the Busway project has a lot of contribution in improving Jakarta’s public transportation system. As a consequence of its political burden, the project needed to be deployed in a short amount of time. This limited time frame has a lot of impact in the design of the Busway stations.

Of course, there is nothing sexy in the design. One should understand that better design needs more time. I am not sure how constraining is the budget and time for this project. However, the design expressed those considerations which allow the design architect, PT Arkonin, to exploit the economy of scale principle. Generic design and adaptability to site condition are the two main considerations so the station can be mass produced.

Each station is supposed to be designed air conditioned free and allows cross ventilation by enclosing the station with aluminum grilles. It is a box in shape, with slight slanted walls and windows in two of its sides for aesthetic consideration. The design itself is very straightforward and functional. The steel structure is exposed with minimum decoration, so you can still see how each station are put together. The whole station unit has to be raised off the ground to accommodate the height of the bus’s door. In some stations, the platform has extra height so they have to provide little steps going down for the passengers to get into the bus.

In order to conserve the budget and reduce construction time, the Busway stations need to utilize existing infrastructure. In most cases, the station units exploit existing pedestrian bridges and add ramps for easy accessibility. I must admit, this ramp addition has potential to increase public enthusiasm and attract more passengers. However, this added feature is not followed up with improvement of the pedestrian infrastructures. I can still find some ramps landed on poor sidewalks or unmarked pedestrian crossings.

If you go through the Busway routes, you will find that there are a lot of variations in the design of each station. Median’s space availability plays a key role in producing these variations. The ones in Kuningan and Sudirman area only differ in width because of the size of the median. In Mampang Prapatan area, the ticket stall has to be separated and raised far above the ground because the median is too narrow to accommodate the width of the station (Picture 1).

Consequently, not all stations have similar convenience for pedestrians. For example, the one in front of Sarinah Thamrin building is the only one equipped with elevators for people with disabilities (Picture 2). Contrary, pedestrians face higher risk for accidents when they have to struggle into a super busy four lanes traffic on Gajah Mada Street (Picture 3) where it has no pedestrian bridges nor zebra cross available.

Some of the stations were deployed without thoughtful adaptation to the condition of existing site. The gigantic Busway central station at Harmoni had to hover above the Ciliwung River and completely enclosed it (Picture 4). While the river is already in a poor condition, enclosing it only contradicts with any efforts to improve it. The river becomes inaccessible to allow maintenance or any effort for beautification.

I can understand the budget limitation of the project and how it should maximize the use of existing infrastructure. However, the deployment of the station units appears so brutal because it disregards harmonious relation with existing condition. I believe it is already a rooted culture in Jakarta that in providing public infrastructure, quick fixes is more favorable, finding cheapest solution and short term thinking defeats larger public interests. Jakarta’s Public Officials should exploit this Busway project as an entry point for larger improvements.

Lastly, I can imagine that a Busway passenger would have a hard time to distinguish one station to another. Mass production should not be the excuse for producing generic design. Locality plays a key role in public transportation design. A passenger should have the ability to recognize their location at all times, small signs or audio announcement do not always work.

I am not proposing for each station to have different design, as you can find in Montreal’s (Canada) subway station. Even smelly New York’s MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) station or gloomy Paris’ Metro Station has directive ornamentation. Locality could be achieved with simplest effort, whether applying different materials and colors or even utilizing public artworks.

Pictures:

Busway 01 Busway station on Mampang Prapatan

Busway 02 The only Busway station with elevator in front of Sarinah Building

Busway 03 Separated Busway station on Gajahmada Street.

Busway 04 Harmoni Busway Central station on top of Ciliwung River

All images are by Zenin Adrian