Jakarta a huge metropolis with traffic congestion to match<\/p>\n
Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jakarta is the one metropolis in Southeast Asia without a clear
\ntransportation policy as evidenced here daily by the hectic
\ntraffic jams.<\/p>\n
There are so many horror stories about how residents have to
\nget up at dawn just to get to their workplace or school on time
\nwithout being caught in the traffic jams.<\/p>\n
Many attribute this condition to the fact that there is an
\nextremely high number of private vehicles -- some 4 million
\nprivate cars and motorcycles -- registered in the city.<\/p>\n
With registered Jakartans numbering more than 8 million
\npeople, this figure means that there is one vehicle for every two
\nresidents.<\/p>\n
But of course less than half of Jakartans own a private
\nvehicle. On the other hand, there are many residents who have a
\nsmall fleet of cars at their disposal.<\/p>\n
Despite the high number of private vehicles, public
\ntransportation is still always crowded and packed, especially
\nduring peak hours.<\/p>\n
Compared to the private vehicles, the number of public
\ntransport vehicles seems like a minor fleet.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has some 25,000 taxis operated by more than 30
\ncompanies while City Transportation Agency's data reveals that
\nthere are at least 4,530 large buses, 4,978 medium-sized buses
\nand 11,848 public minivans. About 40 percents of the buses,
\nhowever, could not operate due to their poor condition.<\/p>\n
The public vehicles are to serve the majority of the
\npopulation plus those living in the nearby cities and regencies
\nof Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.<\/p>\n
These cities and Jakarta form an entity known as Jabotabek or
\nsimply Greater Jakarta, with a total population of some 20
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
The large number of vehicles here cannot move in a comfortable
\nway because there is a very limited road network of some 6,500
\nkilometers (km) in Jakarta or some 41.5 square km of area,
\naccording to the City Public Works Agency.<\/p>\n
As a rule of thumb, according to experts, a city needs some 10
\nto 30 percent of its area to be dedicated to roads. Hence, with a
\ntotal land area of some 650 square km, Jakarta needs an absolute
\nminimum of 65 square km and ideally some 195 square km of roads.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Jakarta has only managed to reach two-thirds of
\nthe absolute minimum required.<\/p>\n
Financial constraints have become the city administration's
\nmost expedient excuse for its failure to increase the number of
\nroads here.<\/p>\n
Statistically speaking, the administration has only been able
\nto provide about 1 percent growth of road networks in recent
\nyears, which is far behind the increase vehicle numbers, which
\nranges from 8 percent to 12 percent per year.<\/p>\n
The construction of flyover bridges or underpasses, for
\nexample, can significantly reduce congestion caused by traffic
\nlights at busy intersections but there are more things needed to
\nensure a smooth flow of traffic.<\/p>\n
However, once a flyover bridge (or an underpass) is built
\nbypassing an intersection, others must also be built down the
\nline to prevent a bottleneck of vehicles at the next
\nintersection.<\/p>\n
Building more flyover bridges of underpass also requires
\nmoney, which obviously the administration is unwilling to
\nallocate.<\/p>\n
Five projects started in September, while the construction of
\nthree others began in 2001. The one in Penggilingan, East
\nJakarta, has been just completed. Unfortunately, the other
\nconstruction projects are behind schedule, adding to the city's
\ntraffic woes.<\/p>\n
Another thing that worsens traffic jams are the street
\nvendors, which clog most roadsides.<\/p>\n
They usually operate in or near strategic places such as busy
\nintersections, markets and terminals and many have their stalls
\non sidewalks and even occupy the road itself, obstructing the
\ntraffic flow.<\/p>\n
Even the construction of toll roads cannot guarantee smooth
\ntraffic in the long term.<\/p>\n
The government's decision to continue the halted Jakarta Outer
\nRing Road (JORR) project this year drew both praise and criticism
\non whether JORR would be able to solve Jakarta's chaotic traffic
\nproblem.<\/p>\n
Toll roads can offer a partial solution in the short term as
\nit adds to the total amount of road networks. However, it is just
\nlike giving pain killers to cure cancer.<\/p>\n
The comprehensive answer, however, still has to be found for
\nthe long term.<\/p>\n
The presence of a mass rapid transit (MRT) could be the answer
\nto the chronic problems of traffic congestion while at the same
\ntime would reduce air pollution. A tentatively proposed MRT could
\ncarry some 40,000 passengers per hour in a given direction.<\/p>\n
But an MRT itself is not capable of solving traffic congestion
\nwithout being connected to other modes of transportation to carry
\nthe passengers to their final destinations.<\/p>\n
The absence of good feeder networks would mean that the
\ncommuters would essentially be stuck at MRT stations.<\/p>\n
Each MRT exit would likely become another source of traffic as
\ndozens of undisciplined public transport drivers would wait for
\npassengers, blocking the traffic again.<\/p>\n
In other words, an integrated transportation system is a must.
\nAnd Jakarta should work in cooperation with the administration of
\nthe other cities in Greater Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Jakarta stated its plan for an MRT project many years ago, but
\ncomplains about lack of funding and nothing gets done.<\/p>\n
In 1995 a Japanese, European and Indonesian consortium planned
\nan MRT project which would span 15 kilometers from Jl. Fatmawati
\nin South Jakarta to Kota area in West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The project, estimated to cost more than US$1.5 billion, was
\nestimated to be completed within five years.<\/p>\n
The Japanese government had given its commitment to finance
\nthe project. But it was postponed when the financial crisis hit
\nIndonesia in mid-1997. The project was halted also because the
\nJapanese government reportedly felt concerned about the security
\nhere.<\/p>\n
The amount of money to build the system is obviously large,
\nbut in the long run, it is expected to give benefits for all of
\nthe city residents. A rough estimate made by the city
\nadministration showed that traffic congestion inflicts losses of
\nUS$900 million annually. This does not include the stress and
\nother problems such as getting to work late and lost
\nproductivity.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso vowed that the project would start during
\nhis second-term, but there has been no elaboration about when it
\nwould actually begin. The only thing has been done was that the
\ncity administration allocated last month a place at the City Hall
\nas a joint office with the Japanese consortium.<\/p>\n
And in 2002, instead of realizing the plan, the city
\nadministration was busy discussing the controversial busway
\nproject. They promised that the busway would have been
\noperational by last December. But it is later postponed until at
\nleast eight months due to \"technical problems\".<\/p>\n
The original plan was to provide a special lane designated for
\nbuses along the main thoroughfare from Blok M to Kota.<\/p>\n
It was calculated that the busway system would carry some
\n10,000 to 27,000 passengers per hour in a single direction.<\/p>\n
It was initially estimated that the project would cost Rp 50.8
\nbillion, but last week, the administration said it would be
\nincreased to Rp 90.25 billion.<\/p>\n
While it is clear that the planning of the busway system is
\npoor, its effectiveness still remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
Poor planning is actually common within the administration.
\nThe paradigm of the city development has changed about two
\ndecades ago when the administration started to develop the city
\nalong its east-west axis instead of north-south. The road and
\ntransportation systems, however, were never properly developed to
\nmatch the growth of residential neighborhoods and office
\nbuildings.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, we will still have to endure horrendous traffic
\ncongestion in the capital for many more years until the
\nadministration gets its act together.<\/p>",
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