Completing this pentalogy of Bus Rapid Transit posts of South East Asia is a brief glimpse of operations in Jakarta and Seoul. Unlike the one-line systems of Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi, these cities have adopted BRT as a city-wide form of mass transportation, both adding to extensive metro systems (particularly Seoul) and offering reduced journey time across many city bus routes.
Jakarta
There are dozens of BRT lines across the city: it is clear that there has been a conscious policy decision to adopt BRT city-wide. Jakarta has elected to built dedicated BRT stations in the median which means buses need to be equipped with off-side doors. For flexibility, many Jakarta buses have both near side 'low floor' doors and off side 'platform' height doors. This probably means these buses will spend their life in Jakarta and have little value elsewhere.
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| Signage to BRT stations showing numerous lines and integrated with signage to metro lines. |
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| One of the most substantial BRT stations in central Jakarta. |
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| Jakarta BRT map showing the numerous lines. |
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| List of Jakarta BRT routes |
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| Off bus ticketing - ticket barriers control entry and exit at BRT stations |
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| A very wet evening in Jakarta showing the segregated off-side running lanes for BRT. |
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| Jakarta city bus showing off-side platform height doors, necessary to use BRT stations. |
Seoul
The Seoul system is even more extensive: the use of the basic BRT infrastructure of dedicated lanes and stoops is integral to the entire city bus network. Therefore there isn't so much a BRT map as just a bus map. Furthermore any bus can use the infrastructure and stops as it is designed to be accessed on the nearside of the bus. As well as city buses, inter-urban coaches also use the infrastructure. The bus stops are often off-set from each other to reduce the amount of the median used.
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| Seoul has more conventional bus stops rather than BRT stations, although this particular stop is oe of the busiest. There is no additional infrastructure such as platforms or ticket barriers. |
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| Typical Seoul city bus on segregated median lane. And still raining! |
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| Off set stops reduce the amount of road space that needs to be used. |
