Transport in Indonesia

Indonesia's transport system has been shaped over time by the economic resource base of an archipelago with thousands of islands, and the distribution of its more than 200 million people concentrated mainly on a single island, Java.
All modes of transport play a role in the country's transport system and are generally complementary rather than competitive. Road transport is predominant, with a total system length of 548,366 kilometres (340,739 miles) in 2020. The railway system has five unconnected networks in Java and Sumatra primarily dedicated to transport bulk commodities and long-distance passenger traffic.
Sea transport is extremely important for economic integration, as well as for domestic and foreign trade. It is well developed, with each of the major islands having at least one significant port city. The role of inland waterways is relatively minor and is limited to certain areas of Eastern Sumatra and Kalimantan.
The function of air transport is significant, particularly where land or water transport is deficient or non-existent. It is based on an extensive domestic airline network in which all major cities can be reached by passenger plane.
Because Indonesia encompasses a sprawling archipelago, maritime shipping provides essential links between different parts of the country. Boats in common use include large container ships, a variety of ferries, passenger ships, sailing ships, and smaller motorised vessels. The traditional wooden pinisi vessel is still widely used as the inter-island freight service within Indonesian archipelago. Main pinisi traditional harbours are Sunda Kelapa in Jakarta and Paotere harbour in Makassar.
Frequent ferry services cross the straits between nearby islands, especially in the chain of islands stretching from Sumatra through Java to the Lesser Sunda Islands. On the busy crossings between Sumatra, Java, and Bali, multiple car ferries run frequently twenty-four hours per day. There are also international ferry services between across the Straits of Malacca between Sumatra and Malaysia, and between Singapore and nearby Indonesian islands, such as Batam. Ferry services are operated by state-owned ASDP Indonesia Ferry and several private operators.
A network of passenger ships makes longer connections to more remote islands, especially in the eastern part of the archipelago. The national shipping line, Pelni, provides passenger service to ports throughout the country on a two to four week schedule. These ships generally provide the least expensive way to cover long distances between islands. Smaller privately run boats provide service between islands.
On some islands, major rivers provide a key transportation link in the absence of good roads. On Kalimantan, longboats running on the rivers are the only way to reach many inland areas.
Indonesia has 21,579 km (13,409 mi) of navigable waterways (as of 2005), of which about one half are on Kalimantan, and a quarter each on Sumatra and Papua. Waterways are highly needed because the rivers on these islands are not wide enough to hold medium-sized ships. In addition to this, roads and railways are not good options since Kalimantan and Papua are not like Java, which is a highly developed island. With the current length of waterways, Indonesia ranked seventh on the countries with longest waterways.
Major ports and harbours include Bitung, Cilacap, Cirebon, Jakarta, Kupang, Palembang, Semarang, Surabaya, and Makassar. Ports are managed by the various Indonesia Port Corporations, of which there are four, numbered I through IV. Each has jurisdiction over various regions of the country, with I in the west and IV in the east. Port of Tanjung Priok in Jakarta is the Indonesia's busiest port, handling over 5.20 million TEUs.
A two-phase "New Tanjung Priok" extension project is currently underway, which will triple the existing annual capacity when fully operational in 2023. In 2015, ground breaking of the strategic North Sumatra's Kuala Tanjung Port has been completed. It is expected to accommodate 500,000 TEUs per year, overtaking Johor's Tanjung Pelepas Port and could even compete with the port of Singapore.
A wide variety of vehicles are used for transportation on Indonesia's roads. Bus services are available in most areas connected to the road network. Between major cities, especially on Sumatra, Java, and Bali, services are frequent and direct; many express services are available with no stops until the final destination.
The intercity bus service has become the major provider of land transportation service connecting Indonesian cities, either within an island or inter-island connected through ferry crossings. The intercity bus operator companies are called P.O. (perusahaan otobus in Indonesian) with several major companies operating mainly in Java and Sumatra. The longest intercity bus service in Indonesia is a route operated by P.O. Antar Lintas Sumatera (ALS) connecting Medan in North Sumatra and Jember in East Java. It is a week long bus travel covering a distance of 2,920 kilometers.
The surge of intercity bus travel in Indonesia took place after the completion of Trans-Java highway section connecting Jakarta and Surabaya in 2018. During this time, some intercity bus services began operating fleet of double decker busses.
Some major cities has urban transit bus service, or a more sophisticated form of bus rapid transit (BRT). There are usually also bus services of various kinds such as the Kopaja in Jakarta. The largest one, Transjakarta system in Jakarta, is the longest bus rapid transit system in the world that boasts some 230.9 kilometres (143.5 miles) in 13 corridors and 10 cross-corridor routes and carrying 430,000 passengers daily in 2016. Other cities such as Yogyakarta (Trans Jogja), Surabaya (Suroboyo Bus & Trans Semanggi Suroboyo), Palembang, Bandung (Trans Metro Pasundan), Surakarta (Batik Solo Trans), Denpasar, Pekanbaru, Semarang (Trans Semarang), Makassar, Bogor, and Padang also have BRT systems in place without segregated lanes.
Surabaya City has a number of public transportation services in the form of regular city bus by several bus companies, both owned by BUMN and private, which operate in accordance with the route permit from the Surabaya City Transportation Agency or the East Java Traffic and Road Transportation Agency (DLLAJ). The service has been operating since July 20, 1975, replacing the function of tram as the main public transportation at that time. In the early 2010s, the population of regular city buses continued to decline along with the number of units that were no longer roadworthy and the emergence of various online transportation services in this city. The existence of regular city buses has also been eroded by the start of various road-based mass transportation (bus rapid transit) services in the city since mid-2015, such as Trans Gerbangkertosila (known as Trans Sidoarjo), Suroboyo Bus, Trans Semanggi Suroboyo and Trans Jatim. Until 2017, the population of regular city buses with various chassis (frames) and bodies reached 274 units spread across twenty different route lines. Early September 2022, the state-owned operator Perum DAMRI officially stopped all operations of its regular city buses, so that all remaining regular city bus services were only operated by several private bus companies. There are a total of 38 buses from several bus companies such as PO Estraa Mandiri, PO Ladju, PO Akas NR, PO Dua Putra, etc., which provide services on two economy routes, two express routes and one AC express route. These routes connect Terminal Purabaya or Terminal Larangan (Sidoarjo) in the south of the city with several public transportation infrastructures in the north of the city such as Terminal Bratang, Terminal Joyoboyo or Jembatan Merah Plaza (JMP).
City bus services have been present in Surabaya as feeder buses or pick-up buses for tram passengers belonging to the Oost-Java Stoomtram Maatschappij (OJS) company since 1889. Many bus units were placed at several tram stop infrastructure such as Wonokromo Kota Station, Willemplein, and Ujung. As the golden age of trams faded, the Surabaya City Government began to stop all tram operations in 1969. As a result, tram feeder buses changed status to become the main mode of public transportation in the city.
After the tram operation stopped, the Surabaya City Government began a project to establish and procure regular city bus services bound to fixed routes, in collaboration with the pioneer operator Perum DAMRI. The regular city bus service by Perum DAMRI was officially launched on July 20, 1975 with twenty large buses produced by Robur. Along with the increasing public interest, Perum DAMRI began to increase the number of buses by fifty units in 1976 and 92 units in 1978. Until 1982, the city bus routes increased to nine and were served by 168 buses. The nine newest city bus routes are:
In 1981, Perum DAMRI began operating five double-decker bus routes using buses produced by Leyland Motors. A year later, Perum DAMRI added two new routes, along with the inauguration of the patas class city bus service. By 1983, the number of double-decker bus routes had increased to ten different routes. After operating for eight years, all double-decker bus operations were stopped since 1989. One of the contributing factors was the infrastructure on arterial roads that still did not support the operation and affordability of double-decker bus transportation. All bus units belonging to the double-decker bus were finally replaced with regular buses.
One form of improving regular city bus services from the Perum DAMRI operator in the early 2000s was the operation of new method route buses (RMB). The fundamental difference between RMB buses and other buses is that there are various improvements and improvements in service quality such as the addition of interior facilities, security systems, passenger capacity, departure schedules, distances between departures (headway), stopping points (stops), payment methods, crew competence, and payroll systems. The RMB bus was designed as a pilot project to improve the quality of other routes. This RMB bus is the beginning of the development of city buses with air conditioning (AC) facilities, so that later these bus units are better known as AC patas city buses.
As of July 5, 2007, Perum DAMRI has begun to gradually rejuvenate regular patas class city buses using patas class units with facilities air conditioning (AC) and automatic doors. The initial stage was carried out by replacing twenty regular city buses on route P1 with city buses on route PAC1. Following on April 3, 2012, ten regular city buses on route P8 were also replaced with city buses on route PAC8.
As of April 30, 2012, the Surabaya City Government in collaboration with Perum DAMRI began operating a special regular city bus service for women or called a women's bus. The service aims to minimize cases of sexual harassment and criminal acts against women in public transportation. The number of units provided by Perum DAMRI for the service is thirteen large buses. As of July 2, 2012, the women's bus began operating using six buses on the PAC1 route. Low passenger occupancy has resulted in the number of buses operating continuing to be reduced. Until July 13, 2012, only four women's buses were operating. Ineffective operations and the absence of feedback in the form of evaluations and long-term plans from the Surabaya City Government caused this service to slowly stop operating. The women's bus units began to function again as regular city buses by transporting passengers of various genders.
Perum DAMRI in collaboration with the Sidoarjo Regency Government inaugurated the Trans Sidoarjo service (as part of the development of the Trans Gerbang Kertasusila agglomeration transportation) with a total of thirty large buses with a high deck design (highdeck) assisted by the Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenhub RI) on September 21, 2015. Trans Sidoarjo is a transportation system based on bus rapid transit (BRT) using fast, cheap and air-conditioned (AC) buses in the area around Sidoarjo. The Trans Sidoarjo route connects Purabaya Terminal with Porong Terminal via Toll Road, Terminal Larangan and Tanggulangin. Low passenger occupancy has caused Perum DAMRI to suffer losses, so it has gradually reduced the number of operating buses to ten units. Since the PPKM due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Trans Sidoarjo has stopped operating. In 2020, all Trans Sidoarjo bus units were converted to regular city bus routes PAC4 and PAC8.
Based on a copy of the letter from the Land Transportation Observation Center (BPTD), as of September 1, 2022, Perum DAMRI has officially stopped all UABK or regular city bus services in Surabaya on the three routes it owns. This operational cessation moment is twelve days after the inauguration of Trans Jatim on August 19, 2022 and two days before the fuel price increase on August 3, 2022. Previously, Perum DAMRI was the sole operator on two regular city bus routes from the Purabaya Terminal such as the P4/PAC4 and P8/PAC8 routes. In addition, Perum DAMRI is one of the regular city bus operators for the P3/PAC3 route from Terminal Larangan, together with PO Estraa Mandiri, PO Akas NR and PO Ladju. Several news reports from the mass media stated that Perum DAMRI will reactivate regular city bus services on the P4/PAC4 route on the Purabaya-Tanjung Perak route via the Toll Road which still has passenger occupancy. The route of the route is planned to be extended (extension) to Bangkalan Terminal. The discourse on extending the route had previously surfaced in 2009, but had not been realized. The discourse will be implemented at the end of 2022, when Perum DAMRI has received a grant in the form of 34 electric bus units produced by PT INKA after the G20 Summit in Bali ends.
Before bus rapid transit (BRT) was present in Indonesia, all city bus services generally still adopted a conventional (regular) management system and were similar to intercity bus services. In 2004, it was only Transjakarta is present in Jakarta City as the first modern city bus service based on road-based mass transportation and implementing BRT standards on an integrated corridor network. The implementation of these standards is a differentiator between Transjakarta as a modern city bus with several services such as Kopaja, MetroMini, Koantas Bima, Kopami, Miniarta, Kowanbisata, etc. as regular city buses or non-corridor city buses that already existed. The success of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government in organizing public transportation with the Transjakarta service has become a pilot model for several local governments in implementing modern city buses in other big cities such as Trans Jogja (2008), Trans Semarang (2009), Batik Solo Trans (2010), Trans Musi (2010), Trans Sarbagita (2011), etc. The local government has started implementing a modern city bus operational scheme by converting regular city buses into modern city buses, or maintaining the existence of regular city buses. In comparison with other big cities in Indonesia, the development of urban bus modes in Surabaya is relatively static and slower. However, Surabaya is the only city in East Java that still maintains regular city bus services, after similar services in Jember City were deactivated in 2007–2008. In the period between 1975–2015, regular city buses were still one of the main modes of public transportation within the city (besides transportation city and public passenger cars) that are able to survive and dominate the route network connecting strategic points in the city such as Purabaya Terminal, Larangan Terminal (Sidoarjo), Joyoboyo Terminal, Bratang Terminal, Jembatan Merah Plaza (JMP), Semut Station, Tanjung Perak Port (Ujung Baru) and Tambak Osowilangon Terminal. However, the era of the glory of regular city buses began to decline and degrade since the 2010s, along with the start of the operation of online transportation services and several modern city bus services or BRT in this city such as Trans Sidoarjo (2015), Suroboyo Bus (2018), Trans Semanggi Suroboyo (2021) and Trans Jatim (2022). As of September 2022, the population of regular city buses has shrunk to less than fifty units, spread across only four routes such as routes D, F, P3/PAC3 and P5.
Regular city bus services in Surabaya are divided into three levels of travel class based on differences in accommodation quality. The order of service classes from the lowest is economy, patas, and AC patas. Economy buses only have routes on arterial roads in the city, the fare is cheaper than the class above it, and can accommodate standing passengers (if the seat capacity is full). The express bus (an acronym for fast–limited) has a route on arterial roads and toll roads in the city, travel time is faster than economy buses, and carries limited passengers according to the maximum seat capacity. While the AC express bus is a express bus with additional facilities in the form of Air conditioning (AC). Most of the AC express bus units in Surabaya are units owned by Perum DAMRI. Express bus units that are no longer roadworthy and are more than fifteen years old will be replaced with AC express bus units gradually.
The Surabaya City Government began adding and adjusting regular city bus routes in the period 1991–1993. The route adjustments were made after several public infrastructures in the city were operated, such as the Purabaya Terminal, Tambak Osowilangon Terminal, Jalan Raya Ahmad Yani and Surabaya–Gresik Toll Road. Based on data from the Surabaya City Transportation Agency, there was a decrease in the number of regular city bus route permits in the period 2009–2017. The total number of city bus route permits in 2009 was 426 units spread across 22 active routes, while the total number of regular city bus route permits in 2017 decreased by 36%, with details of 274 units spread across twenty active routes. Statistics of regular city buses in Surabaya
Until 2021, regular city bus service providers in Surabaya are divided into two types of operators, namely BUMN operators and private operators. BUMN operators refer to the city bus transportation units (UABK) by Perum DAMRI Surabaya Branch. While private operators refers to the operational cooperation (KSO) unit of several private bus companies in East Java, whose units are employed for the regular city bus division. Since 2015, all regular city bus operators have begun to form legal entities in the form of limited liability company (PT) to facilitate operational arrangements in the field. Early September 2022, all regular city bus services will be operated by only ten private bus companies. There are a total of 39 buses from the bus company, which provide services on two economy routes, two express routes and one AC express route. List of regular city bus operators in Surabaya Perum DAMRI is the only regular city bus operator that implements a fixed salary system for bus crews, both drivers and conductors. In addition to Perum DAMRI, other operators implement a deposit system and profit sharing for bus crews. The crew gets their income based on the amount of money they have to deposit with the company. After the amount of money earned is reduced by the deposit, the remainder is divided among the crew.
As of September 2022, there are four different travel routes on five active regular city bus routes in Surabaya. The seven routes consist of two economy bus routes, two express bus routes and three AC express bus routes. The five routes connect the southern end of the city such as Purabaya Terminal or Larangan Terminal with public transportation infrastructure in the north of the city such as Bratang Terminal and Jembatan Merah Plaza (JMP). The bus unit has an effective operational schedule between 05.00–17.00 WIB with a waiting time (headway) of at least 25 minutes from each terminal and stopping point.
Regular city bus units in Surabaya have their own platforms or departure lanes at the Purabaya Terminal since the revitalization of the terminal building in March 2013. The number of platforms provided is ten lanes, adjusting to the number of regular city bus lanes with high passenger occupancy. The ten route lanes are still operating routinely in the period 2013–2020. However, all regular city bus units on all routes have stopped operating since the Surabaya City Government implemented large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) and enforcement of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) due to the Covid-19 pandemic in this city. Several routes have started to operate again since the Surabaya City Government began to lower the PPKM level and the Purabaya Terminal has started to be visited by intercity bus units. However, there are several routes that are experiencing an empty bus unit, so that several of these routes are no longer operated (inactive).
In general, almost all regular city buses in Surabaya (except for AC patas buses) have a similar uniform pattern (livery) on the bus body. The uniform on the bus body uses a white base color and a special colored bumper according to the service class level. Some units even add large, eye-catching stickers of commercial product advertisements such as soft drinks, headache medicine, bird feed, footwear, furniture, beds, and so on. Since 2009, some of the regular city bus units owned by Perum DAMRI that are not roadworthy (over fifteen years old) have begun to be rejuvenated and replaced with AC patas buses. Since mid-2018, Perum DAMRI has replaced some of the bus units on its routes with buses provided by the Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia for the 2014 budget year. The Hino RK8 R260 chassis buses and Laksana Discovery bodies are former Trans Sidoarjo units. Unlike Perum DAMRI, most of the regular city bus units owned by private operators use used buses with various specifications. Generally, bus units are obtained by utilizing used or rebuilt buses owned by operators, or buying used buses from other bus companies. This causes the fleets owned by private operators have a higher level of chassis and body type diversity than regular city bus units owned by Perum DAMRI which tend to be uniform.
The payment system for city bus services in Surabaya mostly still uses a conventional system, namely payment with cash directly to the conductor on the bus. Perum DAMRI has also implemented a ticket system, namely payment is made by paying cash to the conductor which is then exchanged for a ticket as proof of payment. The type of service tariff applied is a fixed tariff, which means that the tariff is the same for both short and long distances. The amount of city bus service tariffs on all routes is further regulated in Surabaya Mayor Regulation Number 76 of 2014. Constraints from several factors such as the rise of online transportation, rising fuel prices, decreasing number of daily passengers, and the effects of the implementation of PSBB and PPKM have made all operators start to adjust the amount of service rates several times.
In order to implement the Decree of the Minister of Transportation Number 35 of 2003, Perum DAMRI began opening city bus services as integrated buses in Surabaya since 2004. The integrated bus modes support intermodal connectivity (land, water and air transportation) with seamless, efficient and sustainable service characteristics (sustainable). Perum DAMRI in collaboration with PT Angkasa Pura I provides a bus service for connecting integrated modes infrastructure airport–bus terminal from Terminal 1 Domestic (T1) and Terminal 2 International (T2) Juanda International Airport using a special airport transportation unit (UAKB). In 2022, there are three travel routes on three integrated bus routes from Juanda Airport.
Since two type A passenger terminals were built in the Surabaya border area such as Bungurasih and Tambak Osowilangon in the 1990s, all intercity bus route permits began to be transferred to the two terminals. However, there are several intercity bus services in the Gerbangkertosusila agglomeration area that have route permits that cover the inner city area. This causes the intercity bus units to be able to pick up and drop off passengers at the same stops or stopping points as the overlapping regular city bus routes. The following are intercity bus routes in Surabaya that have crossing points in the inner city area.
Since the Suramadu Bridge began operating in 2010, several intercity bus routes within the province (AKDP) across Java–Madura have begun adjusting their routes and passenger stops in the northern area of Surabaya City. According to a circular from the East Java Provincial Transportation Agency, intercity buses are permitted to cross the Suramadu Bridge without having to cross the Ujung–Kamal crossing. Referring to the results of the agreement between the bus companies (PO) related to the local land transportation organization (organda), intercity buses are permitted to transport passengers on a limited basis and outside the operational schedule of city transportation (bemo) and regular city buses. Intercity buses can only pick up and drop off passengers from points such as Ujung Baru, Barunawati Park and Kedinding Lor.
A series of traffic accidents due to a bus experiencing brake failure occurred on September 14, 2022 at the Taman Mayangkara red light, Wonokromo. This incident involved a regular city bus unit belonging to PO Indrapura 88 on route F on the Purabaya-JMP route via Diponegoro, which hit six motorbikes and one car. This incident claimed the lives of four men and a pregnant woman. All victims have been rushed and treated at the Islamic Hospital (RSI) Jemursari. Based on findings in the field, the active period of roadworthiness test of the bus unit has apparently expired since April 2022, even though the bus still has an active route permit from the Surabaya Transportation Agency. The temporary suspicion of the Surabaya Police Traffic Unit is that this incident was caused by the bus driver being less careful in maintaining a safe distance. In addition, there are indications that the bus unit's braking mechanism is not functioning optimally (failed) which causes a collision.
Many cities and towns have some form of transportation for hire available as well such as taxis. Many cities also have motorised autorickshaws (bajaj) of various kinds. Cycle rickshaws, called becak in Indonesia, are a regular sight on city roads and provide inexpensive transportation. They have been blamed for causing traffic congestion and, consequently, banned from most parts of Jakarta in 1972. Horse-drawn carts are found in some cities and towns.
Ridesharing companies have become serious competition to both taxicabs and motorcycle taxis (ojek), with the four providers being Gojek, Maxim, Anterin, Grab and others.
In more remote areas, and between smaller towns, most services are provided with minibuses or minivans (angkot). Buses and vans are also the primary form of transportation within cities. Often, these are operated as share taxis, running semi-fixed routes.
Due to the increasing purchasing power of Indonesians, private cars are becoming more common especially in major cities. However the growth of the number of cars increasingly outpaces the construction of new roads, resulting in frequently crippling traffic jams in large parts in major cities especially in Jakarta, which often also happen on highways. Jakarta also has one of the worst traffic jams in the world.
Indonesia has been gradually introducing an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) since 2012. ITS Indonesia was formed on 26 April 2011.
Indonesia has about 283,102 kilometres (175,911 mi) of paved highways and 213,505 kilometres (132,666 mi) of unpaved highways (As of 2011 estimate). Four of Indonesia's main highways are classified as parts of Asian Highway Network: AH2 section in Java and Bali, AH25 and AH151 in Sumatra, AH152 in Java and AH150 section in Kalimantan. Some of them has been numbered, currently only in Java and (partially) Sumatera.
National routes of Indonesia pass through the hearts of most main cities, and are designed to connect between city centres. They act as main inter-city route outside the tollways. A national route has to be passable by logistic trucks, while simultaneously handling the common traffic. National routes in Java are numbered, while those outside Java aren't. In some cities, even in crowded districts, national routes often form bypasses or ring roads (Indonesian: jalan lingkar) around the city to prevent inter-city traffic entering the city center.
Ministry of Public Works and People's Housing is responsible to these networks, except DKI Jakarta part from Jakarta Inner Ring Road to Jakarta Outer Ring Road. A national route can be revised if it serves unable to handle the traffic. It would usually be handled by the province/regional government.
Below were lists of some national routes in Indonesia:
All expressways in Indonesia are toll roads, known locally as jalan tol (lit. toll road). The first expressway in Indonesia is the Jagorawi Toll Road, opened in 1978. 2,386 kilometers of expressways are operating as of 2021. Over 568 kilometres (353 mi) of expressways opened during the first term of President Joko Widodo, surpassing previous administrations. Since 2018, all expressways do not accept any cash tolls; all tolls must be paid with certain contactless money cards.
The high cost of building and maintaining a national highway system means that Indonesia has to outsource the construction and maintenance to private and state-owned companies. Indonesia has an extensive system of highways consisting of:
Serangan-Tanjung Benoa Toll Road: The toll road between Tanjung Benoa to Airport and from Airport to Serangan, all in direct line (not curve) is 12.7 kilometres and is equipped also with motorcycle lanes. The toll road is formally opened on 23 September 2013, about a week before APEC Summit in Bali is opened.
Indonesia's main railways, operated by Kereta Api Indonesia and its subsidiaries, is used for both passenger and freight transport.
The majority of railways is located on Java. There are four separate railway networks on Sumatra: one in Aceh, one in North Sumatra (Aceh connection proposed to be finished in 2020s), another in West Sumatra, and the final one in South Sumatra and Lampung. South Sulawesi has railway network in Barru Regency as the impact of Trans-Sulawesi Railway construction, the first phase includes 146 kilometers route from Makassar to Parepare, which was completed in November 2022 and has been operating ever since. There are no railways in other parts of Indonesia, although new networks are being developed on islands such as Kalimantan and Papua.
The inter-city rail network is complemented by local commuter rail services, particularly in Jakarta metropolitan area and Surabaya. In Jakarta, the KRL Commuterline service carries more than a million passengers a day. Urban rail networks are also exists in few cities. Palembang LRT began operations in 2018, the first of such kind. The Jakarta MRT and Jakarta LRT began operations in 2019, with the Greater Jakarta LRT system being constructed and it commenced official commercial operations on 28 August 2023, after 11 days of Indonesian Independence Day.
The government's plan to build a high-speed rail (HSR) was announced in 2015, the first in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. It is expected to connect the capital Jakarta with Bandung, covering a distance of around 140 kilometres (87 miles). Plans were also mentioned for its possible extension to Surabaya, the country's second largest city. In 2023, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail construction partially finished and is set to start commercial operation starting October 2023. The Jakarta-Bandung HSR began trial operation with passengers on 7 September 2023 and commercial operations on 2 October 2023.
As of 2013, Indonesia has pipelines for condensate 1,064 km (661 mi), condensate/gas 150 km (93 mi), gas 11,702 km (7,271 mi), liquid petroleum gas 119 km (74 mi), oil 7,767 km (4,826 mi), oil/gas/water 77 km (48 mi), refined products 728 km (452 mi), and water 44 km (27 mi).
Air transport in Indonesia serves as a critical means of connecting the thousands of islands throughout the archipelago. Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country in the world, extending 5,120 km (3,181 mi) from east to west and 1,760 km (1,094 mi) from north to south, comprising 13,466 islands, with 922 of those permanently inhabited. With an estimated population of over 255 million people – making it the world's fourth-most-populous country – and also due to the growth of the middle-class, the boom of low-cost carriers in the recent decade, and overall economic growth, many domestic travellers shifted from land and sea transport to faster and more comfortable air travel. Indonesia is widely regarded as an emerging market for air travel in the region. Between 2009 and 2014, the number of Indonesian air passengers increased from 27,421,235 to 94,504,086, an increase of over threefold.
However, safety issues continue to be a persistent problem in Indonesian aviation. Several accidents have given Indonesia's air transport system the reputation of the least safe in the world. Indonesian aviation faces numerous challenges, including poorly maintained, outdated, and often overwhelmed infrastructure, the factor of human error, bad weather, haze problems caused by plantation fires, and volcanic ash spewed by numerous volcanoes that disrupts air transportation.
The Indonesian Air Force has 34,930 personnel equipped with 224 aircraft, among them 110 combat aircraft. The Indonesian Air Force possesses and operates numerous military air bases and military airstrips across the archipelago.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has predicted that Indonesia will become the world's sixth largest air travel market by 2034. Around 270 million passengers are predicted to fly from and within Indonesia by 2034.
As of 2013, there are 673 airports in Indonesia, 186 of those have paved runways, and 487 have unpaved runways. As of 2013, there are 76 heliports in Indonesia. Jakarta's Soekarno–Hatta International Airport serves as the country's main air transportation hub as well as the nation's busiest. Since 2010, it has become the busiest airport in Southeast Asia, surpassing Suvarnabhumi and Changi airports. In 2017, it became the 17th busiest airport in the world with 62.1 million passengers.
In Indonesia, there are 22 commercial scheduled airlines that carry more than 30 passengers, and 32 commercial scheduled airlines that transport 30 or less passengers, as well as chartered airlines. Some notable Indonesian airlines, among others, include Garuda Indonesia, the government-owned flag carrier of Indonesia, Lion Air, currently the largest private low-cost carrier airline in Indonesia, Sriwijaya Air, currently the largest medium service regional carrier in Indonesia, also the country's third largest carrier, and Indonesia AirAsia, the Indonesian branch of Malaysian-based AirAsia.
Mudik, or Pulang Kampung, is an Indonesian term for the activity where migrants or migrant workers return to their hometown or village during or before major holidays, especially Lebaran (Eid al-Fitr). Although the mudik homecoming travel before Lebaran takes place in most Indonesian urban centers, the highlight is on the nation's largest urban agglomeration; Greater Jakarta, as millions of Jakartans exit the city by various means of transportation, overwhelming train stations and airports and also clogging highways, especially the Trans-Java toll road and Java's Northern Coast Road.
In 2023 it was estimated that the people that took annual mudik travel reached 123 million people. The demand for train and airplane tickets usually spikes a month or two prior to Lebaran, prompting an unusually higher cost for tickets for highly sought days of departure. Some airlines might add extra flights or operate larger airplanes to deal with the surge in demand.
Indonesian train operator Kereta Api Indonesia usually offers additional train trips or introduces longer trains with more cars in order to meet the demand. The private operators of intercity and interprovince buses usually charge higher ticket costs during this period. The impact is indeed tremendous as millions of buses, cars and motorcycles jam the roads and highways, causing kilometres of traffic jams each year.