Jakarta badly needs modern transit system<\/p>\n
By Hartoyo Pratiknyo and Rita A. Widiadana<\/p>\n
Getting around Jakarta can be a headache. It may take two hours
\nfor an employee to reach his or her work place and another two to
\nget home in the evening. On the one hand, city administration has
\nbeen struggling hard to curb the continuous increase in the
\nnumber of private vehicles and to provide cheap and efficient
\npublic transportation to discourage people from using their
\nprivate cars. On the other hand, government policies seem to
\nfavor car owners, as can be seen by the sophisticated toll roads
\nthat encourage private car ownership. The existing public
\ntransportation system is still far from ideal in terms of safety,
\ncomfort, punctuality and convenience. The Jakarta Post tries to
\nlook into the matter through the following story.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): You wake up at 6 a.m. and take a shower. You
\nhave a leisurely breakfast. At 7 a.m. you board your vehicle at
\nBlok M and be at your office in downtown Kota half an hour later.<\/p>\n
A dream? Of course -- for now. But when, or if, plans to build
\na modern mass transit system (MRT) for Jakarta get underway, that
\ndream could turn into reality before the decade is over.<\/p>\n
For at least the past couple of decades, the need for such a
\nmodern transport system for Indonesia's capital city has been
\nwell enough understood. For all these years, no matter how often
\nthe authorities launch their orderly-traffic campaigns, no matter
\nhow many new rules and regulations are introduced and no matter
\nhow many new roads are built or enlarged, Jakarta's traffic
\nsnarls continue to grow worse, almost by the day.<\/p>\n
Often, the argument is heard that the number of cars in this
\ncity continues to grow at a rate that far outpaces the growth of
\nits road network. Appeals are made for commuters to use buses,
\ninstead of private cars, to commute to and from work. All to no
\navail, for reasons that must be obvious to anyone who has ever
\nboarded a bus in Jakarta during peak hours. Anyone who can afford
\nit would certainly prefer to drive a private car, jams or no
\njams.<\/p>\n
So, zones of restricted traffic are introduced around the
\ncity's busiest business areas -- the so-called \"three-in-one\"
\nzones -- where, during morning peak hours, cars are prohibited
\nfrom entering unless they carry at least two passengers besides
\nthe driver. In response, hordes of \"jockeys\", street urchins who
\nappear along the streets from seemingly nowhere to offer their
\nservices as momentary passengers to motorists intent on beating
\nthe law.<\/p>\n
It seems that finally people have begun to realize there is no
\ncheap or easy way out of Jakarta's chronic traffic and
\ntransportation problems. People are beginning to heed a piece of
\nadvice which city planners and transportation experts have been
\noffering for decades: An effective mass rapid transit system, or
\nMRT, capable of transporting at least a million commuters a day,
\nis the only option that can at least ease the burden which this
\ncity's roads now have to carry. Jakarta's road system was never
\ndesigned to serve the demands of a budding modern metropolis.<\/p>\n
Mere outgrowth<\/p>\n
Recent as it may appear in certain parts of the city,
\nJakarta's road network, as it exists at present, is actually a
\nmere outgrowth of the old pre-World War II system, which was
\ndesigned to serve the needs of a population of no more than
\n300,000 to 400,000 people.<\/p>\n
After the war, when Jakarta became the national capital of the
\nnewly independent Indonesian republic and the influx of people
\nfrom the provinces began, little was done to anticipate the
\ncoming explosion of the city's population.<\/p>\n
Major thoroughfares were enlarged and new roads and toll roads
\nwere built in the most strategic areas but, in essence, it was
\nthe same old system which had to carry the severe burdens of
\nmodern traffic. The situation in Kota, Jakarta's main business
\ndistrict, provides a good illustration.<\/p>\n
Before World War II, when Jakarta was still the Dutch colonial
\ncapital of Batavia, the district of Weltevreden, which was the
\ncity district around the present Menteng and Gambir (Monas)
\nareas, was the main (elite) residential area, while banks and
\nother business offices were mostly centered in the downtown Kota
\narea. Both areas were connected by thoroughfares -- the present
\nGajah Mada and Hayam Wuruk streets flanking the Ciliwung river.<\/p>\n
Over the decades, residential areas such as Menteng have
\nbecome overcrowded and new residential neighborhoods have sprung
\nup around it. At the same time the volume of business that is
\ndone daily in the Kota area has increased tremendously. As a
\nconsequence, traffic along both thoroughfares has increased
\nmanifold. Yet, the only expansion of the system came many years
\nago in the form of enlargements towards the sides of the two
\nstreets. The emergence of new business districts outside Kota has
\nnot helped much to lighten the burden along Jl. Gajah Mada-Jl.
\nHayam Wuruk.<\/p>\n
The magnitude of the pressures that are being placed on
\nJakarta's road system can be easily grasped by looking at a few
\nstatistics. By the time of the outbreak of World War II, Jakarta
\nhad a population of approximately 300,000. By 1970, 30 years
\nlater, it had grown to almost 4.5 million. In 1980 there was more
\nthan 6.5 million people living in the city. Today, Jakarta's
\npopulation is estimated to have reached the 10.6 million mark.<\/p>\n
In step with the growth of its population, Jakarta experienced
\na phenomenal growth in the number of vehicles plying its roads.
\nOfficial records show that, to date, not less than 1.5 million
\nmotor vehicles are registered in this city. More than 3,500 large
\nand 4,800 medium-size buses are in operation, as well as
\napproximately 10,000 mikrolets (mini-vans), 17,900 taxis and
\n15,100 bajaj (tri-carts). During busy hours, an average of at
\nleast 20,000 cars pass Jl. Jenderal Sudirman alone. What makes
\nthe problem worse is that 86 percent of all those vehicles are
\nprivate cars, 11 percent are freight cars and a mere 2.6 percent
\nare public transportation vehicles.<\/p>\n
Combine all those factors with the reality that the cost of
\nexpansion is sure to get higher with the passing of each year and
\nthe logic of opting for an either elevated, or underground, mass
\nrapid transit system will be evident. The problem is, the
\nauthorities have so far been unable to decide which system to
\nadopt. This is not very surprising since a number of criteria
\nwill have to be met, aside from feasibility and cost.
\nPunctuality, comfort and affordability are obviously important
\nconsiderations besides the capability of transporting a large
\nnumber of people at any one time.<\/p>\n
Three systems<\/p>\n
As of today, it seems that three systems are in consideration.
\nThe first proposal, submitted by Citra Lamtorogung, involves the
\nbuilding of a three-tiered integrated system of highways,
\nrailroads and toll roads to be built between Lebak Bulus, Blok M
\nand Kota, and another between Cempakaputih and Tanah Abang. The
\nsecond proposal, submitted by the Japanese firm Itochu, is for a
\nsubway to be built between Blok M and Harmoni, linked to a
\nsurface track from Harmoni to Kota. The third, submitted by Citra
\nPatenindo, proposes building an \"aeromovel\" system of elevated
\nwind-powered trains between Blok M and Kota.<\/p>\n
To judge by various statements made by officials lately, it
\nseems that the subway system stands, for the present, as the
\ngreatest chance of being adopted. But on whatever system the
\nchoice may finally fall, building will probably start this year.
\nIf so, and barring any further delays, Jakarta may finally boast
\na modern MRT system by the end of the decade. That it certainly
\ndeserves. After all, all things considered, the Indonesian
\ncapital city is already decades late in coming to a decision.<\/p>",
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