Busway, not the dream come true<\/p>\n
"You are late for class," my English teacher said, "Sorry,
\nMiss. There is a lot of traffic on the way to school lately."<\/p>\n
This has most definitely become a regular excuse for many of
\nthe people residing in Jakarta. Jakarta is under constant
\nconstruction to extend the busway service in the city.
\nUnfortunately, the infant stage of this mode of public
\ntransportation has brought with it some unpleasant effects.<\/p>\n
Many of us are well versed with the traffic problems in
\nJakarta. Sitting in long lines of traffic for hours on end,
\nwhiling away valuable time, missing appointments, being late for
\nmeetings and classes, are just a few of the effects of this
\ninfectious disease.<\/p>\n
With this in mind city officials came up with the busway as a
\nremedy. But its construction has only aided in the spread of the
\ndisease.<\/p>\n
Construction of busway corridors means taking up at least two
\nlanes of road, one for the busway itself and the other for the
\nconstruction equipment. Narrowing a three-lane road to only a
\nsingle lane can cause serious problems. Heavy rush hour traffic
\nonly worsens the problem. Cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles all
\ntry to squeeze into this bottleneck, ultimately causing a jam
\nthat takes at least half an hour to clear.<\/p>\n
Once completed, a busway corridor will take up an entire lane
\nof a road, not only increasing problems for vehicles wanting to
\nmake a U-turn, but also reducing the road space for other
\nvehicles.<\/p>\n
The fraction of traffic reduced by the busway is far less
\nthan the traffic it creates. Another effect of the busway is the
\ncutting down of trees. The median strip in the Cempaka Putih area
\nused to be lush with trees, but since it was decided a busway
\ncorridor would occupy this space, the trees have been hacked
\naway. This makes the district look like an even bigger concrete
\njungle.<\/p>\n
In my opinion, the government should work toward perfecting
\nthe busway dream to cure the traffic disease. By increasing
\nawareness as to how the busway can be used, as well as by making
\nit secure and reliable, it may become a feasible transportation
\nalternative for many people.<\/p>\n
Right now a very small percentage of the people use the
\nbusway, so the number of cars on the roads has not been reduced,
\nthereby in no way helping the traffic problem. I myself have
\nnever taken the busway and I know of few friends who have! By
\nincreasing public awareness of the system and by ensuring people
\nknow it is reliable and easy to use, the number of passengers
\nwill increase. This would not only increase revenue, but also
\nhelp fight the traffic disease.<\/p>\n
Another means of making the system more efficient would be to
\nremove any other forms of public transportation functioning along
\nthe busway corridors. Bajaj, buses and motorcycle taxis take up
\nthe remaining road space, in effect increasing the traffic
\nproblem.<\/p>\n
SHAUNAK MAZUMDER
\nJakarta<\/p>",
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