From Wooden Boats to ”Sepur Pucuk Pala”
Fifteen years ago, 34-year-old Yokhe Firmansyah often rode on a wooden boat measuring 0.5 by 3 meters from his home in Silaberanti subdistrict, Seberang Ulu 1 district, to Jakabaring in Palembang, South Sumatra.
Fifteen years ago, 34-year-old Yokhe Firmansyah often rode on a wooden boat measuring 0.5 by 3 meters from his home in Silaberanti subdistrict, Seberang Ulu 1 district, to Jakabaring in Palembang, South Sumatra.
Now, the wooden boats have been replaced by a more modern transportation mode that former South Sumatra governor Alex Noerdin called “sepur pucuk pala”, which means “the train that runs overhead”, namely the city’s light rail transit (LRT).
“I used to take boats to travel around and look for fish,” Yokhe said on Friday (27/9/2019).
Around 20 years ago, the upstream region of Palembang was severely disadvantaged. Most of the area was swamp filled with lotus flowers. “One boat ride was around Rp 2,000 [14 US cents],” he said.
At the time, development was centered on the downstream region. Palembang residents often called the city’s upstream part a “haunted backwater”. Drivers of public transportation often shouted “City! City!” to offer passengers from upstream to go downstream.
Palembang began to be modernized in 2000, when it was chosen to host the 2004 National Games (PON). Yokhe said that, at the time, the government began to reorganize the upstream region, including Jakabaring.
Jakabaring, a part of Seberang Ulu that became a separate district in 2017, was settled when the Ampera Bridge was opened in 1965. Previously, the area had been swampland. People from various ethnicities then began to build simple stilt houses.
Sriwijaya University’s Palembang history researcher Raden Muhammad Ikhsan said Jakabaring was an acronym of several ethnicities that settled the area, namely Ja (Jawa), Ka (Kaba, which means “you” in Lahat dialect, representing Lahat’s Lintang ethnicity), Ba (Batak) and Ring (Komering).
Seberang Ulu I former district head Rusli Nawi said the Jakabaring development plan had been initiated in 1990 when South Sumatra was led by then-governor Ramli Hasan Basri. An area of around 1,000 hectares was cleared with a price of between Rp 400 and Rp 1,000 per square meter. Development of the Jakabaring sports complex began under then-Governor Rosihan Arsyad in 2001.
Constructing buildings on a swamp was not easy. Sand from the Musi and Ogan rivers was used to fill the 20-meter-deep swamp.
During Syahrial Oesman’s governorship, three buildings were constructed, namely the Gelora Sriwijaya soccer stadium, the Ranau sports stadium and the Dempo sports stadium. All three buildings were put to use in the 2004 National Games in Palembang.
Massive development took place during Alex Noerdin’s governorship. Some 21 sports arenas were constructed in Jakabaring Sport City (JSC). In parallel, a hotel, a shopping center, restaurants and a housing estate were also built.
The development has transformed the swampy area. The wooden boats that Yokhe used to ride on are now gone. There are only asphalt roads nowadays and Yokhe has switched to using a motorcycle.
Development accelerated when Palembang cohosted the 2018 Asian Games with Jakarta. A 22.3-kilometer LRT line was built to connect JSC and Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport. The “sepur pucuk pala” railway, comprising 860 pillars, represents a “development leap” for Jakabaring and Palembang.
With the LRT, it is only Rp 5,000 one-way from the DJKA LRT station to the Dishub LRT station.
Rahmalia, 27, of Sungai Pinang in Jakabaring district, regularly uses the train to get between her home and her office. “It is cheap and much more comfortable than other transportation modes,” she said.
Once, she used a ride-hailing service to go to her workplace at the South Sumatra Governor’s Office. It was Rp 36,000 one-way. “With the LRT, it is only Rp 5,000 one-way from the DJKA LRT station to the Dishub LRT station,” said the young mother, who began using the LRT station when she was pregnant in November 2018.
From the Dishub station, she walks to the South Sumatra Governor’s Office. Her husband takes her by car from her home to the DJKA station.
Improvements
However, further improvements are needed in the LRT service, as there are currently no feeder transportation modes between stations and residences. Furthermore, waiting time at stations is still too long. “If I don’t arrive on time, I need to wait up to 30 minutes,” said Rahmalia. Currently, the LRT’s occupancy rate is only 30 percent.
Palembang Mayor Harnojoyo said the construction of the LRT and sports arenas led to the mushrooming of hotels and restaurants in Palembang, which resulted in increased regional revenue. Hotel and restaurant taxes increased from Rp 85 billion in 2017 to Rp 180 billion in 2018. Land and building tax also increased as land prices soar. Palembang’s city revenue reached Rp 700 billion in 2018 and is targeted to reach Rp 1.2 trillion in 2019.
South Sumatra LRT Management Body head Rosita said continuous improvements included reorganizing public transportation routes, especially Trans Musi buses, so they could serve as feeder transportation.
“Of six corridors, one still [needs reorganizing]. Hopefully we can complete this soon,” she said.
This is part of the government’s effort to provide time assurance for LRT passengers.
On Saturday (28/9) the LRT was optimized. Travel time was shortened from 60 minutes to 47 minutes, almost similar to travel time by car with no traffic jams, namely 40 minutes. Headway has been shortened from 30 minutes on average to 18 minutes on average. The number of trains per day has been increased from 54 to 78.
“This is part of the government’s effort to provide time assurance for LRT passengers,” transportation minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in Palembang.
He said he hoped the optimization efforts would increase the LRT’s occupancy rate to 60 percent.
Budi said Palembang was lucky. With a population of 1.8 million, Palembang already has an LRT service. The transportation mode is more suitable for crowded cities with a population of at least 3 million people.Sriwijaya University transportation expert Joni Arliansyah said the LRT should be faster, cheaper and more comfortable. “If these aspects are fulfilled, [the LRT] will be an option [for Palembang residents],” he continued.
According to Budi, it takes time to make the LRT the main transportation in Palembang. Many adjustments are necessary as it is not easy to “leap” from wooden boats to LRT.