The Trans Musi is the main public bus system in Palembang, with most routes radiating from the main Ampera Bridge area. Trans Musi Corridor 1 spans the main artery of Palembang, plying the heavily-utilized looping route between Terminal Alang-Alang Lebar (AAL/Albar) and Ampera along Jalan Raya Lintas Timur on the Trans-Sumatran Highway.
While touted as a bus rapid transit system (BRT), the Trans Musi does not operate with segregated bus lanes like on the TransJakarta. However, the Trans Musi does have its own ticketing system which allows a maximum of two transfers on each ticket, unlike on the Trans Batam network which requires a new ticket to be purchased when transferring to another corridor.
This article was originally published on 30 March 2018 on BusTravel Station.
The main attraction has to be the Ampera Bridge, a vertical-lift bridge which one would think of when visualizing a landmark of Palembang.
This area will be served by the upcoming Ampera LRT Station on the Palembang LRT.
This area is also home to the Masjid Agung Palembang.
An upcoming monument, possibly related to the 18th Asian Games, just outside the Masjid Agung Palembang, with the flags of ASEAN members gracing the monument.
While many online guides and route planners (including Google Street View) show that the Ampera halt is located right under the bridge, it is actually now located nearer to the Masjid Agung Palembang, right outside Monumen Ampera (Monpera), and is named, well, Monpera.
As this is a key integrated halt on the Trans Musi network, a couple of staff are on hand to assist with any of your route or transfer queries, and will also sell you a ticket in advance to speed things up for the conductor on board the bus.
Flat fares of Rp.5,000 (S$0.48) apply for the Trans Musi irregardless of distance or age group. Each ticket allows for two transfers ie. you may travel up to 3 corridors with 1 ticket.
The typical Hino RK8-235 buses which run on most busway routes across Indonesia.
Some of these buses are decked out in Jakarta Palembang 2018 advertisements, along with the rest of Indonesia and ASEAN.
While many online guides also say that there are parallel routes between Terminal Alang-Alang Lebar and Ampera, and heading onwards to other destinations, the Trans Musi actually works with high-frequency (1 to 5 min) Corridor 1 buses and lots of feeder corridors radiating out of Ampera.
Just ask the staff at hand if in doubt. They’re all really friendly and are genuine in trying to help you.
If you’re travelling for long distances, try getting the last row of seats as these are the only seats facing in the direction of travel.
If you have not gotten a ticket from the staff at Monpera Halt or from the previous connecting Trans Musi ride, you can purchase one from the on-board conductor.
(You’ll need to wave your ticket at the conductor once he calls for it when the bus departs Monpera, and he will go to those who do not have a ticket.)
The crappy view from my seat thanks to the Jakarta Palembang 2018 advertisements.
Trans Musi Corridor 1 follows Jalan Raya Lintas Timur (on the Trans-Sumatran Highway) in Palembang city, almost parallel to the upcoming Palembang LRT line. In future, the Trans Musi Corridor 1 would function more as a parallel feeder to the main Palembang LRT spine, serving the BRT halts in between the LRT stations.
While the Palembang LRT line turns right towards the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport, the Trans Musi Corridor 1 turns left towards Terminal Alang-Alang Lebar.
The Trans Musi Corridor 1 used to continue straight along Jalan Raya Lintas Timur as it offered a faster and more direct journey, however, the following portion of road at this junction is currently closed to facilitate the construction of this new flyover. The Trans Musi Corridor 1 would probably revert to its original route once this flyover is completed.
Turning right onto Jalan Bypass Alang-Alang Lebar to get to Terminal Alang-Alang Lebar.
Approaching Terminal Alang-Alang Lebar.
The alighting halt is located to the left of the main Terminal Alang-Alang Lebar building. If you’re interested in having your bones shaken on long bus rides, long-distance bus services are available here where you can continue to head north to Pekanbaru, Medan or Banda Aceh, or even southeast towards Bandar Lampung, across onto Java to Jakarta or Surabaya, or even continuing onto Bali and ending up in Denpasar.
If you are heading in the reverse direction, board the Trans Musi Corridor 1 bus from the right side of the main Terminal Alang-Alang Lebar building.