Jakarta. Jakarta governor candidate Pramono Anung recently promised that he would let civil servants to take the MRT and LRT public transport services for free should he win the election.

Fifteen other categories of people can also take the MRT and LRT without paying a penny, according to Pramono. However, he did not go into details about who would fall into those categories. The ex-cabinet secretary claimed that he had consulted this idea with transportation experts. 

“So I have studied it and I’m sure that this scheme is possible. Busway is already free for certain groups of people. So we are planning to make the MRT and LRT free if I win the election,” Pramono said in Jakarta over the weekend.

He added: "I talked to transportation experts the other day. Our calculations showed that this is possible."

The MRT -- short for mass rapid transit -- today connects Lebak Bulus and the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout. Expansions for the MRT project are currently underway. As of July, over 120,000 people take the MRT every day.

The Light Rapid Transit (LRT) Jabodebek -- which has a smaller passenger capacity -- links Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, and Bekasi. Around 8.6 million people took the LRT Jabodebek in the first half of 2024.

Pramono said that good teamwork between the central and sub-national governments would be essential to make sure that the free-ride program could run without any problems. Pramono said the program would not only bring benefits to Jakartans, but also those in the surrounding areas such as Depok, Bekasi, Tangerang, and South Tangerang.

Pramono has picked celebrity-turned-politician Rano Karno as his vice governor candidate. The pair will be competing against Ridwan Kamil-Suswono and independent candidate Dharma Pongrekun-Kun Wardana. 

Millions of Jakartans will cast their ballots on Nov. 27.