Ten years after becoming Asia’s first BRT, TransJakarta is still growing and improving. The city continues to add routes, buy new buses, and expand services to create a stronger network for users. Most recently, the system opened the first of several redesigned stations, built to fit more people and be more comfortable than previous designs.

The new station, Karet Baru, replaces two adjacent stations that until recently served corridor 1, the original TransJakarta corridor. At 45 meters long and 5 wide, the new station is large enough to accommodate more people than both original stations combined. With six doors in each direction, the new station has room for two buses to dock simultaneously, allowing boarding and alighting at double the speed.

In addition, the new station features an open design, with a waist-high glass fence around the platform, rather than full walls. The design maximizes air circulation and natural light, making the station more comfortable for passengers waiting to board the bus. Previously, many TransJakarta stations continued to follow the more narrow, walled design adopted from Bogota’s TransMilenio when the system was first built. But Jakarta’s tropical climate calls for more fresh air and more space for the station’s 6000 expected daily users.

The station is largely based on a design drafted by ITDP as part of a TransJakarta system evaluation last year. As part of recommendations for improved services and increased routes, ITDP suggested a new station design. Despite enthusiasm from the government for plans for new direct service routes and redesigned stations, budget constraints at the time prohibited many of the recommendations from being implemented at the time. In 2013, Jakarta began work on a new metro system (MRT). When MRT construction caused the temporary closing of several BRT stations, the city saw an opening to rebuild the stations incorporating many of ITDP’s suggestions. Construction started in April 2014 and the new station opened in mid June.

With the Karet Baru station successfully implemented, the design is likely to be replicated for many stations as they are updated and expanded. The city already has plans to take advantage of disruptions caused by the Jakarta MRT to update two more stations with this design (Bundaran Senayan and Polda Metro Jaya). Sarinah and Tosari stations, both along the original TransJakarta corridor, will also be expanded to accommodate increases in passengers.