Indonesia’s major cities are racing toward a more efficient, modern, and inclusive mobility ecosystem. Jakarta, particularly, is at an inflection point. With the 2025 initiative from the Provincial Government (Pemprov DKI) granting free public transportation access to 15 distinct groups, the city has taken a bold step toward equitable mobility. But inclusivity also introduces operational complexities: verification, entitlement checks, card issuance, and managing massive passenger volumes.
As ridership increases—especially across Transjakarta, MRT Jakarta, and LRT Jakarta—the demand for faster, frictionless, and secure transit systems has never been more urgent. Facial recognition and eKYC technologies may be exactly the infrastructure upgrade Indonesia needs to meet this moment.
When Inclusivity Meets Operational Friction
The “15 groups” entitlement scheme covers an extensive range of beneficiaries:
- students with KJP,
- the elderly,
- low-income households,
- people with disabilities,
- civil servants and pensioners,
- PAUD educators,
- religious-institution staff,
- PKK/jumantik volunteers,
- and residents of Rusunawa,
among others.
Each group requires different documentation, different validation checkpoints, and sometimes in-person visits for card issuance or registration. With manual or card-based processes, the system faces:
- Slow onboarding, especially when documents need manual review.
- Bottlenecks at ticketing gates, especially during peak hours.
- Card misuse, lending, duplication, or fraudulent access.
- High operational overhead for verification and periodic revalidation.
The intention—equitable access—is strong. But the execution depends on infrastructure that is scalable, secure, and fast.
A Global Shift Toward Biometric Transit Systems
Several countries have already demonstrated that biometrics can streamline mobility without compromising security.
- Japan: Cities like Kumamoto and Osaka have piloted biometric gates where riders simply look at a scanner to enter. With live-detection systems and high accuracy, it reduces ticket printing and eliminates the need for IC cards.
- Singapore: Trials for facial-recognition-enabled fare collection aim to eliminate tap-in/tap-out altogether, increasing boarding speed and reducing congestion on buses.
- South Korea & UAE: Both countries appear in global indexes as among the highest adopters of public-space biometric systems, integrating facial recognition for crowd security, access control, and flow optimization.
These systems all point to one conclusion: biometric mobility is no longer experimental. It’s emerging as the global standard for seamless transit.
How Facial Recognition + eKYC Could Improve Indonesia’s Transit Experience
- Faster, Card-Free Access: With facial recognition at gates and bus entrances, users—especially from the 15 eligible groups—can access transit in seconds. No more tapping cards, forgetting cards, losing cards, queueing behind malfunctioning machines. For elderly passengers or people with disabilities, this reduces physical and cognitive friction dramatically.
- A Smarter, More Accurate Entitlement System: Once a user completes eKYC (with automatic population-data checks), their eligibility is digitally verified. The system can automatically recognize:
- age-based entitlements (elderly),
- disability status,
- student status,
- income classifications,
without repeated documentation. This also reduces fraud caused by card lending or impersonation.
- Scalable Boarding for a Growing City: Jakarta’s mobility ecosystem is only getting busier. Facial-recognition access increases throughput, meaning vehicles can maintain schedules and stations remain orderly even during spikes in demand.
- Better Planning and Reduced Leakage
Biometric-based transit offers cleaner, more reliable data. This allows:
- improved route planning,
- dynamic crowd management,
- reduced subsidy leakage,
- better oversight on social-program distribution.
For government administrators, this means a fairer and more predictable subsidy system.
The Sustainability Advantage
Interestingly, facial recognition isn’t just about convenience. KAI’s implementation of face-based boarding for trains has shown added value: less paper waste, reduced ticket printing, and lower operational resources allocated to manual checks.
For a megacity like Jakarta, eliminating millions of paper tickets and plastic cards each year aligns with long-term environmental goals and lowers overall maintenance cost.
A Pragmatic, Critical Look at the Risks
A serious discussion about biometrics must include skepticism. The key issues:
- Privacy and Civil Liberty: Facial recognition ties a person’s identity to their mobility patterns. Without robust data governance, this poses risks—from misuse to surveillance concerns. Indonesia must establish:
- strict data-retention rules,
- anonymization layers,
- independent audits,
- clear user consent mechanisms.
- Equity of Access: Not everyone may be comfortable with biometrics—or may lack documentation to pass eKYC. The system must provide:
- alternative access pathways,
- in-person assistance,
- and protections for the digitally excluded.
- Accuracy and Reliability: Poor lighting, partial obstructions, aging faces, or device errors can lead to false rejections. Redundancy systems must be designed to ensure no user is stranded or disadvantaged.
- Cost and Long-Term Maintenance: Biometric deployment requires investment not just in scanners, but in data infrastructure, security, and training. Policymakers must weigh these costs carefully against projected long-term value.
A strong implementation depends not on the technology alone, but on thoughtful, accountable governance.
The Path Forward for Indonesia
If implemented responsibly, facial recognition and eKYC can be the backbone of Indonesia’s next-generation mobility ecosystem. The free-ride program for 15 groups is an ideal starting point: a high-need, high-impact use case that would benefit greatly from automation, accuracy, and frictionless access.
The opportunity is clear:
- Make transit more inclusive, not more complicated.
- Reduce barriers, not increase administrative burdens.
- Deliver faster, safer, more efficient mobility while upholding users’ rights.
Indonesia is not starting from zero—KAI’s biometric initiatives show readiness. The next step is a citywide, well-regulated, citizen-centric system that turns mobility into something truly seamless.
Because a modern city is not only defined by how fast people move—but by how easily, fairly, and securely they can get where they need to go.
Last modified: December 5, 2025
