Transjakarta Corridor 1

The idea of implementing the bus rapid transit system in Jakarta was emerged in 2001 by the Governor of Jakarta at the time, Sutiyoso, which was supported by the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other parties.[7]

The route passed by Corridor 1 is the route from Blok M Bus Terminal to Jakarta Kota railway station which passes Jalan Jenderal Sudirman and Jalan M.H. Thamrin as the main street in the central area of ​​the Indonesian economy and government, namely the Golden Triangle of Jakarta. The choice of the Blok M–Kota route for corridor 1 was a form of outsmarting traffic congestion when Jakarta was unable to build a subway system, which had actually been planned by B.J. Habibie in 1985 and had wanted to be pioneered again by Sutiyoso in 1998.[8]

The construction of Corridor 1 began around mid-2003, marked by the installation of a "KHUSUS BUSWAY (BUS LANE)" sign on pedestrian bridges and red road markings to mark the separated Transjakarta bus lane.[9] The construction of new bus stops and special lanes began by late 2003, towards 2004 along with the system's socialization.[10] The construction of bus stops and special lanes for corridor 1 received many complaints from the public, due to the bus lane construction distrubs the heavy traffic on Jalan Sudirman and Thamrin during peak hours.[11]

TransJakarta bus fleets at Jalan Jenderal Sudirman c. 2004-2006

On January 15, 2004, when Jakarta was having a downpour, Transjakarta Corridor 1 was inaugurated by Governor Sutiyoso.[12]

With the availability of the Transjakarta Busway as a fast, safe and comfortable, on time, and also affordable public transportation, it is hoped that this will be an alternative choice for all parties, especially for those who is using personal cars.

— Sutiyoso's speech after inaugurating corridor 1 at the Jakarta City Hall (in Indonesian), [12]

The inauguration of Corridor 1 received a lot of enthusiasm from the people of Jakarta, as evidenced by situation of the Kota and Gelora Bung Karno BRT Stations and buses which was overcrowded by Transjakarta passengers. Despite receiving high enthusiasm, the operation of Corridor 1 was criticized by transportation expert Darmaningtyas 6 days earlier.[12]

That there is no integral concept regarding the Busway in Jakarta. So the concept of the Busway was raised, but not accompanied by an integral concept, including the provision of feeder services, including the (provision of facilities) for pedestrians, and special lanes for non-motorized vehicles (e.g. bicycles).

— Transportation expert, Darmaningtyas (in Indonesian), [12]

• In 2009, the National Monument BRT station which has a small building form was expanded to accommodate passengers in corridor 1 and 2.
• On January 23, 2012, 102 articulated buses that have a higher passenger carrying capacity have started to operate to accommodate the high density of passengers.[2][3]
• As the impact of the Jakarta MRT phase 1 construction, in 2014, a number of BRT Stations in Corridor 1 had to be relocated or closed. One of the BRT Stations that were relocated were the Masjid Agung, Bundaran Senayan, Polda, and Karet stations which were moved to a location not far from their original location.[13] While the BRT Stations that were closed were the Setiabudi[13] and the Bundaran HI[14] BRT Stations (the Bundaran HI BRT station was rebuilt after the MRT construction was completed in 2019).
• On June 1, 2014, corridor 1 began to service 24 hours a day along with corridor 3 and 9.[4][15] At the time, the night bus only stop at certain bus stations, but sometime later, all bus stations are served by night bus.
• On late 2018, three pedestrian bridges which are used as the access to the Bundaran Senayan, Gelora Bung Karno, and Polda Metro Jaya BRT Stations, was revitalized and completed in March 2019.[16] The three pedestrian bridges revitalization was followed by the Karet Sudirman pedestrian bridge id which is used as the access to the Karet Sudirman BRT Station in April 2021 and inaugurated in March 2022.[17]
• On March 24, 2019, along with the inauguration of the Jakarta MRT, the rebuilt Bundaran HI BRT Station became the first BRT Station that was directly connected to the MRT Station, even though the connecting access was considered not friendly for disabled.[18][19]
• As the impact of the Jakarta MRT phase 2A project, Bank Indonesia, Harmoni Central Busway, Sawah Besar, and Mangga Besar BRT stations were moved into a temporary building. The temporary building of the Bank Indonesia bus station began to operate since December 19, 2020,[20][21] Mangga Besar since February 25, 2023,[22][23][24] Sawah Besar since February 28, 2023,[22] and Harmoni Central Busway since March 4, 2023.[22][25][26][27]
• On April 15, 2022, five BRT Stations in Corridor 1, namely Gelora Bung Karno, Tosari, Bundaran HI, Dukuh Atas 1, and Sarinah (now renamed M.H. Thamrin) were temporarily closed for revitalization along with six other Transjakarta shelters on corridor 2, 5, 9 and 11. To accommodate affected passengers, Transjakarta had operated the 1ST (Monumen Nasional–Semanggi) shuttle bus route from April 15 to September 11, 2022.[28] The revitalization of the BRT Stations were to improve service quality, accelerating integration with other transportation modes (such as the MRT and KRL Commuterline), and to create a new icon and tourism spot for Jakarta.[29][30] The first BRT Station that was revitalized to be completed in Corridor 1 was the Gelora Bung Karno station which began to reopen on August 17, 2022,[31] followed by the Bundaran HI BRT Station on October 6, 2022,[32][33] Tosari on December 26, 2022,[34][35][36] Dukuh Atas 1, and M.H. Thamrin on March 4, 2023.[37]

The Bundaran HI BRT station on fire during the Omnibus law protests

On October 8, 2020, four BRT stations on Corridor 1 were burned by demonstrators during the Omnibus law protests, those four burned BRT stations are Sarinah (now renamed M.H. Thamrin), Bundaran HI, Tosari, and Karet Sudirman. TransJakarta predicting losses of all 18 BRT station burning and destructions are up to 45 billion rupiah. Other Corridor 1 BRT stations that were damaged by the demonstrators are Harmoni Central, Bank Indonesia, Dukuh Atas 1, and Bendungan Hilir.[38]