Everything you need to know about buying tickets for MRT Jakarta trips throughout the city. Make your trip efficient and save money.
Buying tickets for Jakarta MRT can be a stress-free endeavor. But before you take a trip on MRT Jakarta you need to understand what forms of payment are acceptable for tickets. This will help you save time when you arrive at the station because you won’t have to approach the MRT staff to ask them questions.
You can also avoid waiting in line if you are up to date with the different cards that are accepted at each MRT station within Jakarta.
Although the MRT is new in Jakarta, it is expected to be extremely popular with local commuter who travel to and from Jakarta from neighbouring satellite cities on a daily basis. With Jakarta being one of the largest cities in the world, if the MRT proves to be a reliable and affordable form of public transportation, it will pressure developers to create more lines faster.
Currently, there is only one MRT Line in Jakarta.
This line services trains from Lebak Bulus Station in the south to Bundaran HI Station which is located right in the heart of central Jakarta. When you are buying tickets for Jakarta MRT trips you won’t have to worry about transferring to other lines.
This will simplify the payment process for tickets until new MRT lines get developed in the future.
Things to Consider Before Buying MRT Tickets in Jakarta
The first thing you have to consider when you are buying MRT tickets in Jakarta is how frequently you plan on using the MRT system.
If you travel daily between Blok M Station and Senayan Station for work purposes then you don’t want to continuously stand in line waiting to get a ticket for your trip. In this case you should get a card that can be topped up before arriving to the station. The tap and go approach will work best in this case.
Alternatively, you can simply pay in cash for a single journey card if you only want to travel once on the MRT. In this case, there is no need to worry about topping up a card and putting too much money on it.
Another thing you should consider when you are trying to buy tickets for MRT Jakarta is to determine how far you plan to travel. In other words, how many stations you intend to pass on the way to your destination?
The Jakarta MRT price structure is progressive.
This means that the farther you travel and the more stations you pass, the more you will pay. Currently, the cost of a 1-way journey from Bundaran HI to Lebak Bulus (or vice versa) costs 14,000 IDR. Make sure that you arrive at the station with a bill like 20,000 IDR so you can get change from the attendant or machine easily.
Although not much information is published yet about getting tickets for Jakarta MRT, eventually you can expect there to be a single journey, multiple journey and unlimited day pass tickets. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for there to be ‘tourist MRT cards’ available in Jakarta.
One other thing you might want to consider before you use the MRT in Jakarta and buy tickets is the time you plan on traveling. If you arrive during peak times like 8 am or at 6 pm, then you can expect large line-ups at the ticket machines or the help desk. In this case, you will be better off topping up a card before you arrive at the station.
To help you plan your Jakarta MRT journey more effectively here are quick links to the 13 stations making up the Phase I Line.
Jakarta MRT Stations Quicklinks
- Bundaran HI MRT Station
- Dukuh Atas MRT Station
- Setiabudi MRT Station
- Bendungan Hilir MRT Station
- Istora MRT Station
- Senayan MRT Station
- Sisingamangaraja MRT Station
- Blok M MRT Station
- Blok A MRT Station
- Haji Nawi MRT Station
- Cipete Raya MRT Station
- Fatmawati MRT Station
- Lebak Bulus MRT Station
Also, staying near an MRT station can help you to beat the lines especially during the early morning hours when employees are using the MRT to access their work in central Jakarta.
Use this comprehensive MRT Jakarta Accommodation Guide to find out what the top-rated hotels are near each MRT station and exactly how far each one is from your station of choice.
Different Ways to Buy Tickets for Jakarta MRT
When you are buying a ticket for the MRT in Jakarta try to think about how often you plan on using the service.
Frequent commuters will benefit from using a top-up card.
Single journey passengers who rarely use the MRT system might just want to opt for a single trip ticket. Fewer headaches, right?
Currently, there are two main ways to buy tickets for the MRT in Jakarta:
- Purchase single journey card using the ticket machine inside the station or from the help desk.
- Purchase a tap and go card and load it up with money before you go to the MRT station.
There are various ‘tap and go cards’ that can be used and we will discuss the options that are currently available below.
Buying MRT Tickets in Jakarta at the Station using the Ticketing Machines
Like most MRT systems around the world, there are ticketing machines inside each MRT station in Jakarta. This is the most basic way of using Jakarta MRT, but it can be time-consuming. If the station you are at is busy, this may take a long time to buy a ticket.
Here are the steps to getting MRT tickets in Jakarta using the ticketing machines:
1) First proceed to your station of interest. Currently, there are 13 MRT Stations in Jakarta. You can refer to this comprehensive MRT Jakarta Guide to find out which station is the closest to you or your hotel.
Every station in Jakarta has ticketing machines at both ends near the entrance areas (before the security clearance area).
2) Once you are at the ticketing machine select the station where you want to go. You can tap the screen to do this.
Remember the prices in Jakarta are subject to distance and the number of stations to pass to get to your destination. If you want more specific information about the MRT prices in Jakarta you can refer to this detailed article.
3) Once the price is displayed on the screen, insert your cash.
If you are traveling only to the next station using MRT Jakarta then it might be only 4,000 IDR. Therefore, have some small bills available for this. You don’t want to insert a large bill and get a pile of change from the machine.
4) Follow the screen instructions to print out your MRT Jakarta ticket.
Once you have your ticket don’t forget to collect all of your change from the ticketing machine. The last thing you want to do is leave your money in the machine.
5) Once you have your ticket proceed through the security check to the entrance gates.
Each entrance at every MRT Jakarta Station has a security x-ray check. Don’t expect airport security here, but just a quick and easy x-ray check.
After security, you will be able to enter by tapping your ticket. Look for the gates that have green arrows to denote that they are ready and working.
Once you scan your ticket, place it in a secure place because you will have to tap again to leave the next MRT Station in Jakarta.
***Important Notice
Currently, they are only issuing single trip tickets that are valid for 1 week. This means that you will have to pay a refundable 15,000 IDR on the card plus the amount for your single trip. You can get the deposit back later when you return the card.
Some of the ticketing machines are still out of order, but we all hope that they are up and running very soon. In the meantime, if you require a single trip ticket proceed to the ticket desk to ask an attendant for help.
Using a ‘tap and go’ card to ride the MRT in Jakarta
The second major way of using MRT Jakarta is by tapping a prepaid card on the entrance gate to the station platforms.
This is the fastest way to use the MRT in Jakarta because you won’t waste time waiting at the ticketing machines or the ticket office before every trip. Avoid the crowds with this method of payment.
You can simply top up your card with a lump sum of cash and then use it for multiple trips. But keep in mind that this is not the best method if you only want to use the MRT once.
What cards can be used to ride the MRT in Jakarta?
Currently, there are five cards that can be used to pay for MRT rides in Jakarta in addition to the single trip card that as already discussed above. They are summarized below:
Flazz Card
jakcard
Brizzi BRI Card
TapCash BNI Card
E-money Mandiri Card
You can simply top them up and proceed through security to the entrance gate area at any of the 13 MRT stations. Tap the card and bingo, you are ready for your trip!
Paying for MRT Rides in Jakarta using the Flazz Card
The Flazz Card is one of the four card options currently accepted by MRT Jakarta.
This card is quite popular in Jakarta because it is also accepted on the toll roads around the city. This is a handy card to use because it also works on the toll roads on the way to and from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
The Flazz card is used by merchants all over the city for everything from food and beverage, groceries, petrol, parking, recreation and public transport (Transjakarta, Commuter Line Jabodetabek, and now MRT).
The Flazz card is technically a BCA card but you can top it up all over the city including convenience stores such as Indomaret and Alfamart.
You can pay for MRT trips in Jakarta by tapping your Flazz card on the gate to enter each station.
You can learn more about getting a Flazz Card and topping it up for MRT Jakarta rides using this BCA webpage.
Paying for MRT Rides in Jakarta using the jakcard
The jakcard is similar to the Flazz Card. It can be used to purchase certain things around Jakarta. If you want to enter Ragunan Zoo for instance, then you tap a jakcard to enter.
You can also pay for MRT Jakarta trips using a ‘topped up’ jakcard. Technically, the main difference between the Flazz card and the jakcard is the distributing bank producing the card.
While the Flazz card issued by Bank BCA, the jakcard is issued by Bank DKI. You can read additional information about the jakcard using this Bank DKI webpage.
Take note that at the time of writing this webpage was in Bahasa Indonesia and not English.
You can pay for MRT rides in Jakarta using the jakcard in the exact same manner as the Flazz card. Simply load it up at a merchant (or via ATM if the bank permits) and then tap the entrance gate at your respective MRT station in Jakarta.
Paying for MRT Rides in Jakarta using the Brizzi BRI Card
The Brizzi BRI Card is similar to the other tap and go cards for MRT Jakarta. It is a cash replacement. Therefore, you can top it up and then use it to pay for MRT Jakarta Rides.
You can refer to the Bank BRI webpage to get a detailed overview of how to top up the Brizza card for trips on Jakarta MRT.
In general, it can be topped up by via ATM, direct deposit, internet banking and mobile banking.
When you go to your MRT Station simply pass security and tap it to enter MRT Jakarta.
Paying for MRT Rides in Jakarta using the TapCash BNI Card
The Tapcash BNI card is also an accepted form of payment for MRT Jakarta rides. This card is offered by BNI – another Indonesian bank.
The same holds true for this card like the others. Top it up, tap and then enter MRT Jakarta. The payment will be automatically deducted from your card.
This is the BNI Tapcash Card webpage for additional information.
Paying for MRT Rides in Jakarta using the E-money Mandiri Card
The e-money card is Mandiri Bank’s version of the cashless card. It can be topped up at various retailers such as:
- Bank Mandiri branch offices
- Indomaret
- Alfamart
- Alfamidi
- Lawson
- Superindo
- Circle-K
- 7-Eleven
- Hypermart
In other words, it is pretty well available at any branded convenience store in Jakarta.
You can access a lot of additional information about the e-money card using Mandiri Bank’s website.
Where can you purchase MRT cards in Jakarta and where can you top them up?
Naturally, the next big question when you are trying to use a touch and go card for the MRT in Jakarta is finding where to pre-load (top up) the card?
Fortunately, it is very easy to top up the cards in Jakarta. But you do have to make sure that you know which merchants accept and top up cards.
Some of the most reliable places to top up MRT cards in Jakarta are at convenience stores such as Indomaret and Alfamart.
Some bank machines will also allow you to top up your card using ATM machines. BCA for instance, issues the Flazz card so you can top up your card using some of their ATM machines.
If you want to top it up at a merchant convenience store such as Alfamart, simply proceed to the counter and ask the server if you can top it up. They should issue you a receipt to confirm the purchase.
You can get these top up cards at their respective bank branches. For example go to BCA if you want a Flazz Card. You might be even able to get the card directly at a convenience store as well (depending on the bank).
What is the minimum balance on cards for using MRT Jakarta?
Currently, the maximum one-way ticket price on MRT Jakarta is 14,000 IDR.
According to the MRT personnel in Jakarta this value (14,000 IDR) is the minimum amount that must be on your card to use the MRT system. Therefore, make sure that you have at least this much on your card.
The last thing you want to do is to show up at a station thinking that you have enough only to find out that you don’t.
This will force you to either find a convenience store that is a merchant for the card you are using to top up. The other alternative is paying in cash for a single trip ticket but there may be a long line up at the ticketing machine/service desk.
Be proactive and have some extra cash on your card to pay for MRT Jakarta trips.
Can you use the same card for more than one person to enter MRT Jakarta?
MRT Jakarta currently has a policy: 1 person 1 card. Therefore, so far it is not possible to keep tapping the same card for more than 1 person to enter the MRT system.
Therefore, if you want to buy MRT Jakarta tickets/passes you are just better off getting one of the aforementioned cards and topping them up before you arrive at your station.
Getting MRT Jakarta Tickets: Summary
Currently, there are two main ways to buy tickets for Jakarta MRT trips:
- Cash for a Single Journey Card
- Top up Card
Of these two methods the most efficient and practical way is to get a top up card and add cash to it.
This will help you save time getting a ticket every time you take a ride on Jakarta MRT.
Also take note that many of these cards can also be used for other forms of transportation such as TransJakarta and the Commuter Network.
You can use them to buy food and to enter tourist attractions such as Ragunan Zoo.
The maximum price for MRT Jakarta right now is 14,000 IDR. This is for a complete 1-way journey from Bundaran HI Station to Lebak Bulus Station (or vice versa).
Make sure your card it topped up with at least this much money to ensure that you won’t have to pay in cash at the MRT Station.
Buying Tickets for Jakarta MRT: Updates
In the future you can expect prices and payment methods to change. In the future, if you are wondering how to buy tickets for Jakarta MRT trips you can return to this page.
This guide will be updated to remain relevant regardless of when you are planning a trip to Jakarta.
With the recent opening of the MRT and new LRT Lines currently being constructed you can expect it to be easier to access Jakarta’s major attractions.
Shopping in Jakarta is also much easier because of the MRT. You can now pay for your MRT trip, get out at your station and walk directly to malls and restaurants.
Grand Indonesia, Plaza Indonesia, Plaza Senayan, Pacific Place and Blok M Square are only a handful of shopping malls that are within walking distance to MRT stations in Jakarta.
Get out and explore.
The future for Jakarta is getting exciting.
MRT Jakarta Related Links and Resources
- MRT Jakarta Guide: The most comprehensive guide to Jakarta’s MRT System
- MRT Jakarta Accommodation Guide: Everything you need to know about finding the best properties near each MRT Station
- MRT Jakarta Shopping Guide: Everything you need to know about getting to the best shopping malls near MRT Stations
- MRT Jakarta Map: A detailed overview of Jakarta’s MRT
- MRT Jakarta Price Guide: Find out how much each trip will cost.