Parking and Street Vending on the Cikini Station Footpath: Repeated Prohibitions Violated
JAKARTA — The Department of Transportation (Dishub) says that parking vehicles on the sidewalk around Cikini Station in Central Jakarta breaches the applicable regional regulations. However, illegal parking along the pedestrian path continues to occur, creating problems for pedestrians.
Head of the Jakarta Pusat City Transportation Sub-Department, Agung Trianto Hehakaya, said that monitoring of sidewalk parking around Cikini Station has actually been carried out routinely by his office. “However, Sudinhub Jakarta Pusat cannot act alone and must collaborate with Satpol PP and related agencies to carry out enforcement, because of the high activity of traders/businesses in the area,” Agung told Kompas.com on Thursday, 5 March 2026.
“Parking on the sidewalk is not allowed; besides violating Perda 5 Tahun 2024, it can disrupt pedestrians’ activities,” he said.
According to Agung, enforcement against illegal parking in the area has also been conducted several times through joint operations with relevant agencies. “There have been joint enforcement operations at the city level with Lintas Jaya, using two-wheeled tow trucks and four-wheeled tow removals,” he said.
There are actually several official parking pockets nearby that the public can use. “There are official parking pockets nearby, including Parkir Pasar Rawa Bunga, Cikini Gold Center and Metropole XXI,” he said.
In addition to enforcement, they claim to continuously socialise to the public to avoid using the sidewalk as a parking space. “Socialisation via social media and routine monitoring to urge vehicles to park in the available locations,” he said.
“Currently, monitoring is still carried out by Satpol PP from 07:00 to 21:00 WIB. For vendors, there are no more on the sidewalk; for parking we will coordinate with Dishub,” Purnama said when contacted.
Enforcement is not only carried out by Satpol PP, but also involves other agencies to make the handling more effective. “So that we all enforce it together. And joint operations have been conducted frequently,” he said.
Nevertheless, field observations show that various activities using the sidewalk still occur around the area. The sidewalk on Jalan Pegangsaan Timur, around the access to Stasiun Cikini, Central Jakarta, is crowded with activities that disrupt pedestrian space.
Based on Kompas.com’s observations on Thursday (5 March 2026), the route intended for pedestrians is filled with motorcycles parked and even riding on the sidewalk. A number of riders were seen easily climbing onto the sidewalk to avoid road congestion.
Some riders even travel against the direction on the pedestrian path. This forces pedestrians to step aside or pause to yield to passing vehicles. In addition to vehicles, many motorcycles are parked along the roughly two-metre-wide sidewalk.
The motorcycles are parked in rows along the sidewalk near the row of shops up to the stairs leading to the station. This makes pedestrian space even narrower, although there are clear ‘no parking on the footpath’ signs with a P crossed out.
In the midst of the congestion, street vendors also operate on the sidewalk. A number of food and drink stalls line the pedestrian path, from cendol sellers to fried snacks. Their presence further crowds the sidewalk with trading activity.
The bustle is also driven by the high mobility of passengers entering and exiting Stasiun Cikini. During peak hours, pedestrians coming from the station meet motorcyclists on the sidewalk and residents stopping to buy from stalls. As a result, pedestrians often have to zig-zag to dodge parked or moving motorcycles on the sidewalk. Some pedestrians even have to step down onto the roadway because the pedestrian path is blocked by vehicles and trading activities. This undermines the sidewalk’s function as a safe space for pedestrians.
Some online motorcycle taxi drivers say they choose to wait for passengers on the sidewalk near Stasiun Cikini because of the strategic location.