REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PADANG -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has called on Indonesians to use means of public transportation provided by the government to ease the flow of traffic. However, without appropriate development of mass transportation, traffic jams will persist, he said.
"Every city in the world will experience congestion if there is no development of means of mass transportation," Jokowi stated while inaugurating the Minangkabau International Airport railway called Minangkabau Express, here, Monday.
Construction of the Minangkabau airport train is the third of its kind in Indonesia after those in Jakarta and Medan in North Sumatra Province.
The head of state was accompanied by First Lady Iriana, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimulyono, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, and West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno during the inauguration ceremony.
President Joko Widodo and First Lady Iriana try the Minangkabau Express at Minangkabau International Airport, West Sumatra, on Monday (May 21).
The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Railway has helped to reduce travel time to the airport, he added.
It earlier took over three hours to reach the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport from Jakarta by car during traffic jams, he pointed out.
The government has also been developing Light Rail Transit, Mass Rapid Transit, bus service, and commuter trains to ease traffic in several cities. In Padang, the government is also carrying out similar development of mass transportation infrastructure, he noted.
The Minangkabau airport train is being subsidized by the government to make the ticket fare accordable, at Rp10 thousand per person per trip, or less than US$1. "It is very cheap, while taking a car will take much longer and will be more expensive," he remarked.
The passenger capacity of the Minangkabau train will be increased, from the current 2.6 million passengers annually to 5.7 million passengers by late 2019.
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