Trans-Java toll road is toll road network that connects major cities in Java island. The total length of this road network is 1167 kilometres. It is the successor of the historical Great Post Road network (De Groote Postage) which was built two centuries ago during the Dutch colonial era by Herman Willem Daendels. The construction of Trans-Java began in 1984 during Soeharto leadership and the current president, Jokowi, is determined to finish the project in 2019. When it's completed, Trans-Java will stretch from Banyuwangi, the most eastern city in the island, to Merak and Panimbang, the west end of the island. As of 20th December 2018, the toll road finally connects the two biggest city in Java, Jakarta and Surabaya which is 760 kilometres apart. Trans-Java Toll Road network is also a part of Asian Highway Network which stretch from Bali to Iran, the AH 2 route.
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| Trans-Java Toll Road as of June 2019. Source: wikipedia |
According to CNBC Indonesia research team, the total investment spent on Trans-Java project is spectacular. The fund needed to connect Pejagan to Pasuruan, which has the total length of 626.75 kilometres, is 67.94 trillions rupiah. It means that the toll road needs an average investment of 108.4 billions rupiah per kilometre. However, further investigation shows that the investment per kilometres varies depending on the area's initial condition. Probolinggo-Banyuwangi route recorded the highest investment, it required 142.7 billions rupiah per kilometre to build the route. While the lowest investment is at Solo-Ngawi route which only took 56.8 billion rupiah per kilometre. Therefore an rough estimation can be drawn from those data, in order to complete the network which is 1167 kilometres long, it will require total investment of at least 126.5 trillions rupiah.
The source of fund that is used in order to complete this project is not without polemic. According to tirto.id, the toll road is built by government owned companies using debt and then when the construction is completed, the toll road will be privatized. For example, according jawapos.com, Jasa Marga, the national company which manage the 65 percent of the toll road construction, use debts and project bonds in order to build Jagorawi toll road. Then when the construction is finished (when the asset is matured), the company sell the cash flows generated by the toll to investors as security, the kind of method is known as securitization. Privatization of toll roads raises concern that if strategic infrastructures are being privatized, it may put the well-being of Indonesian people at risk because private companies will focus on profit.
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| Sunset seen from Solo-Ngawi Toll Road |
My Experience Driving on Trans-Java Toll Road: Solo-Ngawi Route
Solo-Ngawi toll road is a small section of Trans-Java toll road, it covers only 89.2 kilometres of the road network. I got to use this route when I was heading to Bojonegoro from Yogyakarta and I also used the road on the way back. I departed around 16:30 Western Indonesia Time on 15th June 2019, I took my time driving and entered the toll road via Colomadu Toll Gate at around 20:00 WIT. I was not using Google Map but it was not too difficult to find the toll gate at night despite the lack of road signs pointing to it. I used Flazz e-toll card in order to pay for it which is published by BCA, I but 250 thousands rupiah in it before I entered in Indomaret. It worked smoothly, all I had to do was put the card on the toll booth scanner.
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| Flazz e-Toll and the receipt |
The first time I noticed when I entered was the lack of illumination. There were hardly any street lamps, they did put a lot of it near gates and rest areas though. I had to rely mostly on reflectors. I also noticed the lack of protective wall on the left side of the road. Seeing that the road goes through field, I was a little bit worried if small animal might jump into the road. The road itself consist of smooth asphalt and rough concrete, there were some bumpy parts especially near bridges, but I think it was not too bad. I also think that the road signs within the toll road were not sufficient in numbers. I think I saw around 3 rest areas but I didn't stop at any of it.
The speed lower speed limit is 60km/h and upper limit is 100km/h. I cruised with average speed of 85km/h but there were many other cars drove beyond upper speed limit. There were no speed trap yet as far as I know so people drove as fast as they want. I saw several patrols but I am not sure if they even try to enforce the speed limit rule. It took me about 50 minutes until I finally was able to exit the toll via Ngawi gate at 20:50 WIT. It costed me 86500 rupiah.
On the way back on the 16th June, I entered the road via Ngawi gate around 15:45 WIT and exited via Colomadu gate 16:30 WIT. I drove in faster average speed since it was easier to navigate when I still had day lights. Although at some point it became a little too bright as the sun was setting in front of me. I noticed that many people who were using the road drove dangerously. Many people didn't put blinkers on when changing lanes and I even noticed cars using the emergency lane to speed up, pulling perhaps 140km/h, it was reckless sight. I tried to go to a rest area to fill gas but the first rest area I went to didn't have gas station, and it was really packed too. The second rest area I went to, it was way larger, I saw that they have many facilities such as Mosque, stores and most importantly gas station. The staff was still inexperienced but he was polite enough.
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| Scenery inside rest area. |
Over all I think that the toll road quality was not too bad, the only close call I had was when I exited the toll, still thinking I was in toll road I didn't notice that I was too faster when I did a sharp turn. I got to drive 100km/h for the first time in my life and it was definitely faster than using normal road. I think it was expensive though, almost 1000 rupiah per kilometers is not something anyone can afford, might as well use train which is cheaper. In the end of the day, the trip ended safely and it was a very memorable experience.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Java_Toll_Road
https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20190204141735-4-53785/diprotes-karena-mahal-berapa-investasi-jalan-tol-trans-jawa
https://tirto.id/polemik-bangun-jalan-tol-pakai-dana-utang-lalu-dijual-ke-swasta-ddWl
https://www.jawapos.com/ekonomi/properti/09/08/2018/bangun-65-persen-tol-trans-jawa-dari-mana-jasa-marga-dapat-dananya/