Getting Around

Getting around Indonesia is three separate problems: crossing a single congested city, travelling between towns on one island, and hopping between the islands themselves. Each has been transformed over the past decade by smartphones and new rail, so forget the old advice about flagging down taxis and entrusting your life to strangers. Patience still helps, but the tools are far better than they were.

The urban snarl

Traffic in Jakarta and most large cities is still heavy from dawn until late evening. What has changed is how you move through it. Ride-hailing apps now dominate: Gojek and Grab between them hold more than 80% of the market, each a "super-app" that will summon a motorbike taxi (GoRide, GrabBike), a private car (GoCar, GrabCar) or a metered Bluebird, show the fare before you book, track the trip and take payment cashless. Maxim and inDrive fill the gaps. Uber left in 2018, so do not look for it. From 1 July 2026, under Presidential Regulation 27/2026, the apps may deduct only 8% commission from a driver's fare. The ojek is no longer an anonymous stranger you flag down; it is a named, rated driver summoned on your phone.

Jakarta has also built genuine mass transit. The MRT metro, open since 2019, runs north to south from Lebak Bulus to Bundaran HI and is being extended towards Kota; two separate LRT systems and the KRL Commuterline (around 1.1 million riders a day, fares from Rp5,000) reach across greater Jakarta; and TransJakarta, once a struggling single busway, is now the world's longest bus-rapid-transit network. The modes interchange at hubs such as Dukuh Atas, with contactless payment throughout. Older options survive - the bemo and angkot minibuses, and the pedal becak now confined to a few back streets - but they no longer define city travel.

Island hopping

Within a large island, flying and rail both work well. On the Jakarta-Bandung corridor the Whoosh high-speed line, running since 2023, covers the distance in about 46 minutes. Rail is no longer confined to Java: Sumatra has intercity services and light rail at Palembang, and Sulawesi runs the Makassar-Parepare line. KAI has modernised its carriages, so even economy class now has reclining seats, air-conditioning and power sockets. Long-distance trains leave Jakarta from Gambir and Pasar Senen.

For longer inter-island trips, most people fly. Garuda, Lion Air, Citilink, Batik Air and AirAsia carry the bulk of the traffic; Jakarta is the main hub, with Bali, Surabaya, Makassar, Medan and Lombok as busy secondary ones. By sea, the state line Pelni runs about 25 large passenger ships calling at some 75 ports, with tickets sold through its Pelni Mobile app; classes range from economy to reasonably comfortable cabins. Vehicle ferries link the islands around the clock - Java to Bali takes about an hour - so, given the stamina, you can still drive from Sumatra to Bali and beyond.

Contributor: nicklemeister