Indonesia is a huge archipelago of almost 17000 islatend . In the high tide some of the island submerged and some emerged in the time of low tide . So water way and airlines are very important to connecting different island . In this article I am going to discuss about the different public transportation in indonesia . Inside island there are bus , train(mainly in java and some parts of sumatra) , Ankot(small van type transport) , minibus(smaller in size than big bus) , betor(this is a small carriage fitted with a motorcycle) and online motorcycle ride like grab, gojek or Maxim . Roads are mostly two lanes where inside the same road both up and down traffic , but some roads are four lanes or six lanes where inside it there is a divider to differentiate between the up and down traffic . Mountainous roads are common in Indonesia with sharp turn so long journey with bus in Indonesia is very tiring . So sometimes people use ferry for intra island journey also as budget option .
different public transportation in indonesia :-
Ferry :-
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world and having a distance of more than 5000 km longitudinally , it requires a strong water transport system to connect different island socially , politically and culturally . It is a country with lots of tribes , language and religion . Connecting people of different island in a very budget friendly way make a strong connection among them , making the unified Indonesia . This Government ferry company Pelni is just not a ferry , it is a nation builder and unifier in Indonesia because in this long journey in sea there is no internet , so people chat with different island people , some foreigner like me and share the idea . My favorite mode of transport in Indonesia is Pelni ferry .
Pelni ships are huge with almost 7-8 decks and passenger from 500 to 3000 in a single ship . This are ships connecting multiple provinces stopping in different ports and having journey time of almost a week for very long journey . Ships are clean , air conditioned , having a bed for every passenger , a power socket near to the bed , shared bathroom with toilet and a beautiful upper open deck . They will provide three time food in the ship and there is mobile connection as well but no internet connection . But I would suggest that you buy some food before boarding as Food prices in cafeteria are very high and you will loose lots of money if you are a budget traveler like me .
Indonesian people can directly book ticket online but for foreigner you must have to go pelni office to book ticket . First they will check your vaccination certificate then they will issue you a ticket but payment must be done other than cash . You will get the boarding pass in exchange of ticket in the sea port . In Business class you will get a cabin but that beds are expensive . In the ship only problem is that in the night time also they don’t switch off the light in the sleeping area , it is really disturbing .
ASDP are another government ferry company in Indonesia . This ships are smalls and carry vehicles also but not good for passenger transport as they don’t have sleeping facility , no AC , no free food and also you can not reach to deck for fresh air . Unless you don’t find pelni never board a ASDP ferry . Tickets are issued just before boarding to the ship . Passage to enter ship are very small and with lots of luggage it is very difficult to enter . My journey was from kupang to aimere , within this short journey I have been exhausted by this journey . Also the ship is not stable like pelni and slow .
There is also lots of ferry , mainly for tourism purpose , traveling between different island . From Labuan bajo to bali with komodo and padar island and having scuba driving , is a popular tourist route which costs more than a million IDR .
Train:-
Train is a government entity in Indonesia and mainly concentrated in Java and some parts of Sumatra . There are two railways under developed in sulewasi and Kalimanthan inside Indonesia . Rail in Indonesia are clean , punctual and Air conditioned but mainly diesel engines . Trains are fast , comfortable and and most convenient mode of transport medium in Java (which is the most populace island in the whole world ) . There is a gap of height between the train and the station platform so they arrange portable stair in the platform to board and leave from the train .
I have traveled three time in KAI train in Indonesia . They have mainly two class , Economy and Executive class and I traveled in Economy class . They have special trains which are super cheap in economy class but also very low leg space . For a budget traveler this trains are the best as the prices are lower than bus also . But you have to book at least a week ago because this seats were filled very fast They have some special tourist train in the tourist spots of Indonesia but I never seen it . They also have Airport trains connecting city to the airport in Jakarta , Medan , Padang and soemarmo but prices are higher than bus and you have to buy bank card . This bank cards are useful for any public transport ride or shopping .
For Booking a train ticket , you can directly go to the station and book a railway ticket . For online booking it is to be mentioned that debit card and credit card outside of Indonesia will not work with the system of KAI app (apps used to book train booking ). so better option is to book rail ticket with the Traveloka app or book through KAI app and pay by cash in Indomarte . I book train ticket through KAI app and pay by indomarte because most budget trains can not be booked through Traveloka app .
Free Bus :-
Yes , you heard it right this buses were really free . In the city of Yogyakarta and Denpasar there are some beautiful red colored AC buses which were completely free upto 31st october 2022 . Maybe they were promoting this buses . This buses are really well maintained and clean . There are also another type of buses where they charge for one way journey and for another way journey it is totally free .
City Buses:-
This big and air conditioned buses travel throughout the city and leaving from the elevated platform . Trans Jakarta and trans Jogya buses are kind of this .
Long Route Bus :
There is , one or more specific Bus Terminal in every city in Indonesia , for Long Distance Bus . From this terminal you can buy long distance bus ticket . Buses are Air Conditioned but not always comfortable . In Sumatra buses are not so comfortable but in Sulawesi and Java buses are extremely comfortable with good leg space . In Java if you board a bus your breakfast , lunch and dinner are free . I really like this facility in Java .
Betor:-
Betor is a customized vehicle where a two wheel carriage is added to a Motor cycle . Sometimes this motorcycle is added in the back , sometimes in a side of the carriage. This is a very unique type of vehicle which are found in all Indonesia . You can have a very beautiful view of the city if it is added in the back of the carriage . Fare of this vehicle is little higher than the motor cycle bus less than Taxi .
Ankot:
Ankot is a small Van type of vehicle which is a type of public transport in the cities . It is very popular too because big cities of Indonesia are packed with people and this little vehicle can run faster than big buses inside the high traffic . Before going into the vehicle mind your head as the doors are very short . Fare are little higher than Bus but less than Taxi .
Airlines :-
Being the largest archipelago in the world it is necessary to have a good air transport system . Before 2000 most of the people travel from one island to another island by ship but after that this traffic mainly shifted toward air connectivity because of the cheap fare and quick transport . Garuda Air , Lion air ,batik airlines , malindo airlines , Singapore airline , Malaysian Airlines and Air Asia are some of the major carrier inside Indonesia . There are lots of Domestic as well as International airports inside Indonesia and among them Jakarta and Bali are the major entry points for tourist inside Indonesia .
Summary:-
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world and having more than 17000 island . For inter island connectivity Ferry and Airlines are necessary but inside the island mainly in Sumatra , java , sulewasi ,kalimanthan , flores and timor there are different modes of transport system . Trains are only available inside Sumatra and Java . Whereas bus , ankot , online motorcycle and betor are available in all the island but long journey inside island are very tiring because most of the roads inside Indonesia is mountainous and only two lane .
