Jakarta needs to overhaul transport system<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Over the past decade or so everybody in Jakarta has been
\ncomplaining about the horrendous traffic congestion in the
\ncapital. Although new roads have been built and more public
\ntransport modes have been put in operation since then, things
\nhave changed only for the worse.<\/p>\n
On working days, especially in the morning and afternoon,
\nmillions of cars and motorcycles clog the streets of Jakarta and
\nits surrounding cities, Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi.<\/p>\n
Motorists have to spend more hours sitting immobile in their
\ncars, trapped in seemingly endless queues of fume gushing
\nmotorized vehicles.<\/p>\n
People residing in Jakarta spend about two hours every working
\nday in the street to and from their workplaces, according to one
\nestimate. And more than 1.2 million workers living in Bogor,
\nTangerang and Bekasi spend around six hours every working day
\ntraveling between their homes and workplaces.<\/p>\n
Theresia Kolondam says she spends Rp 400,000 (almost US$50) a
\nweek in taxi fares from her home in Cempaka Putih, Central
\nJakarta, to her office, a foreign institution in Kemang, South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
"I won't go by bus because it is not only unsafe and slow but
\nalso uncomfortable," she says.<\/p>\n
To avoid heavy traffic, some people leave home for the office
\nas early as possible.<\/p>\n
Kristina Susilawati, for example, will leave at around 5:30
\na.m. by car from her house in Ciputat to reach her office 15
\nkilometers away in Kuningan, South Jakarta. Usually she manages
\nto arrive by 8 a.m. In fact, when traffic is light, she can cover
\nthe distance in 40 minutes.<\/p>\n
"Being trapped in traffic is very stressful. I cannot work
\noptimally on arrival at the office ...," she said, adding that
\nshe spends about Rp 350,000 a month on fuel.<\/p>\n
Traffic in the city takes its toll on people's time, money,
\nhealth and on the environment.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Consumers Foundation's (YLKI) 2001 survey
\nshowed that workers in Jakarta spend 20 percent of their monthly
\npay on transport expenses, while the "normal" level is 14
\npercent.<\/p>\n
Transportation experts have estimated that traffic congestion
\nwastes Rp 2.67 billion per day or almost Rp 67 billion a month in
\nfuel and vehicle maintenance costs.<\/p>\n
YLKI chairwoman Indah Sukmaningsih blames the traffic chaos on
\nwhat she sees as an "ineffective" and "inefficient" transport
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
"So the remedy is to introduce an effective mass
\ntransportation system," she said.<\/p>\n
On their part, Jakarta Police have blamed the traffic
\ncongestion on the rapidly increasing number of new cars, which
\nhas surpassed what the government's infrastructure can handle.<\/p>\n
Up to Sept. 2003, the number of cars and motorcycles in
\nJakarta was registered at 4.7 million, or 7 million kilometers in
\ntotal length, while the length of the existing roads totaled only
\n7.5 million kilometers.<\/p>\n
The number of vehicles has increased by 14 percent annually
\nwith 700 new ones being purchased each day while the road grows
\nonly around 1 percent a year.<\/p>\n
City administration spokesman Muhayat said the city had very
\nlittle funds to construct new roads. The bulk of the money, he
\nsaid, goes to the building of flyovers on major roads where
\ntraffic is extraordinarily heavy. He admits, however, that the
\nflyovers are not entirely effective to ease traffic as a whole.<\/p>\n
The lack of discipline among bus drivers, passengers and
\nmotorists has also contributed to widespread traffic jams in
\nJakarta. Drivers of city buses, and smaller angkot, are notorious
\nfor their reckless driving and dropping passengers anywhere they
\nwish. It is also an increasingly common practice that drivers,
\nmotorists and motorcyclists run red lights.<\/p>\n
Environmental activist Ahmad Safrudin says the city government
\nhas been unable to provide a better transportation system in
\naccordance with Law No. 14\/1999.<\/p>\n
"To improve traffic flows, harsh action must be taken against
\nreckless drivers and the public must be taught discipline," he
\nsays.<\/p>\n
He questions why the Jakarta city council fails to put
\npressure on governor Sutiyoso to improve of the transportation
\nsystem as part of the efforts to improve public service.<\/p>\n
"In the afternoons, thousands spend a lot of time along Jl.
\nThamrin and Jl. Sudirman to wait for city buses that are already
\novercrowded. Blue collar workers ride on the roofs of commuter
\ntrains," he says, "This condition is actually a reflection of the
\ngovernment's ignorance of the poor transportation system."<\/p>\n
The chaotic transportation system, according to transportation
\nexpert Alan Marino, is a political rather than technical matter.
\nThe governor has no political commitment to initiate a mass rapid
\ntransport system.<\/p>\n
"The city administration has turned a blind eye to the public
\ncriticism in favor of the automotive industry. The governor
\nshould be wiser and start a mass rapid transportation system,
\nsuch as a commuter train network linking all areas in the city
\nand the outskirts," Marino says.<\/p>\n
Marino proposes a redesign of the capital's transportation
\nsystem.<\/p>",
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