The matter of transportation is one thing to consider when traveling. Sometimes, travelers wonder, “How’s the public transportation? Should I rent a motorbike or car when I travel there?” When you visit Solo, modes of transportation are varied and plentiful.
Whether you prefer a modern mode of transportation like buses and angkot – which we now call “feeder” in Solo – or something more traditional like a trishaw called becak to immerse yourself in the city, Solo got you covered.
First, let’s talk about buses in Solo. The city’s bus is called Batik Solo Trans or BST, and just like any city bus, it follows a fixed corridor route. As of August 2022, there are currently 6 corridor routes for BST, corridors 1 and 2 depart from Terminal Palur; corridors 3,4, and 5 depart from Terminal Kartasura; while corridor 6 depart from Terminal Tirtonadi.
Below is the full route of all six BST corridors.
Being the main form of transportation in Solo, the government has made an exception for BST corridor 1 when passing through the main road of Solo, Brigjend Slamet Riyadi Street. Instead of following the one-way policy of the road, corridor 1 may go against the traffic following the designated lane, making it more practical than any other transportation method when it comes to traversing Brigjend Slamet Riyadi Street. The best thing? It’s free.
Keen-eyed of you might notice the thinner lines outside of BST’s route, that is the route of the angkutan kota, or angkot, or what we now call “Feeder BST” in Solo. Basically, a feeder is a smaller-sized version of BST, capable of passing through narrower streets without disrupting the traffic.
The second type of transportation is trishaws called Becak. Unlike BST and its feeder that are moving around, Becak are usually stationed on the side of the street or near a tourist spot. If you’re looking to breeze through Solo and time wasn’t an issue, take a Becak, but don’t forget to negotiate the cost.
The third and final one is app-based transportation. Whether it’s Gojek or Grab, all you have to do is open up the appropriate application on your phone, choose your starting point and destination, then order. It’s that easy.
Being a tiny city, the cost of getting around Solo with trishaw or app-based transportation isn’t very pricey, so all three choices are a viable option.