The Transjakarta Bus

The Transjakarta bus network, popularly known as the Busway, is Jakarta's answer to its citizens demand for a convenient and safe mass transportation system in the city.

The fully air-conditioned buses run on fixed schedule, quite safe, and use special lanes on the right side of roads that enabled them to reach special bus stops at certain locations much faster than regular buses.
These factors and their reasonable fares have attracted many people, including foreigners, to use these buses  to go to work or other places in the city.
Please find below more information about the Transjakarta bus that I have quoted from Berita Jakarta. 

Transjakarta, always be the favorite in its sixth anniversary

BERITAJAKARTA.COM — 1/18/2010 5:35:50 PM

 Since it was launched six years ago, Transjakarta, or mostly known as busway, has become a favorite means of transportation for Jakarta residents. Transjakarta started operating on 15 January 2004, with its first corridor serving Blok M-Kota route.
The presence of Transjakarta was enthusiastically welcomed by the Jakartans; from public-transportation passengers to those used to take private vehicles. The fact can’t be denied; because Transjakarta offers a higher quality service than the quality provided by other public transportations. During the first year of its operation, Transjakarta booked 14,924,423 passengers.

Due to a growing positive response from the public, the government then decided to add more corridors for Transjakarta. Currently, Transjakarta, with its fast service coupled with affordable prices, has eight corridors covering many areas across Jakarta.

Transjakarta has seen the surging numbers of its passengers year by year. Based on the data from Transjakarta Management Body (BLU), in 2004, Transjakarta transported as many as 14,924,423 passengers, then 20,798,196 passengers, 38,828,039 passengers, 61,439,961 passengers, and 74,619,995 passengers were recorded for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 respectively. Therefore, from 2004 to 2009, Transjakarta has carried a total of 75,158,675 passengers, with an average number of 6-7 million passengers a month.

However, despite its fast service and affordable prices, Transjarta has recently received criticism, mostly highlighting its not-sterile lanes from other vehicles including private cars and motorcycles. Such a condition has apparently led to uneasiness for its passengers.
In addition to the discomfort feelings of the passengers, the other vehicles-affected-busway lanes have resulted in another impact, namely the increasing number of accidents involving Transjakarta buses on the lanes.

Transjakarta Management Body (BLU) has recorded that during its first year of operation in 2004, accidents involving Transjakarta buses only numbered five cases, with no fatalities; then in 2006, as the second corridor opened, the number of accidents jumped to 31 cases; and the trend continued in the following years; 66 cases in 2007 and 167 cases in 2008 (causing 13 people dead, 42 others injured).

Besides the not-sterile lanes, another problem faced by Transjakarta is the shortage of gas stations designated to Transjakarta fleet. At present, there are only three busway gas stations in the capital area; they are located on Jl Perintis Kemerdekaan, Jl Rawabuaya, and Jl Pemuda. The three gas stations are certainly not enough to accommodate hundreds of Transjakarta buses.