Letter #5<\/p>\n
Dear Sir\/Madam,<\/p>\n
I am a student of Ipeka Christian Bilingual School. Traffic jams
\nin Jakarta are really a big problem. Every morning when I go to
\nschool or in the evening when I go to my piano lesson, there is
\nalways a traffic jam.<\/p>\n
I cannot predict the traffic in Jakarta. Sometimes it is very
\nbad, sometimes it's not really heavy traffic. Sometimes my car
\ncannot move at all for more than 20 minutes. This kind of traffic
\njam makes me upset, because I will have a problem with my
\nteachers if I'm late, even though it wasn't my fault.<\/p>\n
I noticed that the traffic jam problems start from the bus
\ndriver, mikrolet [a minibus] driver or bajaj driver. They don't
\nstop at the bus stops, but they just stop their car in the middle
\nof the street to pick passengers up and let them off. Sometimes
\nthey stop and wait until they get passengers. They don't care,
\neven though they block the street and all the cars behind them
\ncannot move at all.<\/p>\n
Another factor is that Jakarta's people do not obey the
\ntraffic rules. If they want to cross the street, they just cross
\nit. Even though the government has already built the cross
\nbridges or there is a pedestrian crossing near them, they just
\ndon't care.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the number of people that have cars is growing
\nfast, whereas the roads are still the same. This is because the
\ntax on the cars is not so [high], so people can afford to buy
\ncars. It is very common in Indonesia, especially Jakarta, that
\none family has at least two cars. Besides that, they can get a
\ncar loan easily at a low interest rate.<\/p>\n
The other factor is the traffic lights, especially when the
\ntraffic lights are off (because of the lack of electric power),
\nthere is a very bad traffic jam at every junction because
\neverybody wants to go first and nobody wants to be last. They are
\nall selfish and then the cars are all messed up. It can take more
\nthan an hour to fix it.<\/p>\n
It is a waste of time, it is a waste of gasoline and it is a
\nwaste of money.<\/p>\n
I believe that the government and the people of Jakarta could
\nmake several important steps to reduce the traffic jams. The
\nfirst step would be to discipline Jakarta's people by giving a
\nreally heavy punishment to the people who do not obey the traffic
\nrules. Before they get a driver's license, they should have to
\nlearn about the traffic rules.<\/p>\n
Secondly, the government could build more roads; build subway
\ntransportation or a monorail. They also have to make sure that
\nthe public transport is safe (no crime) and convenient.<\/p>\n
The government could also increase the car tax, especially for
\nthe residents who have more than one car. I mean [that] the tax
\nfor the second car should be higher than the first car and the
\ntax for the third car should be even higher than the second car.
\nWe call it a progressive tax.<\/p>\n
I also believe that the people of Jakarta would obey all the
\ntraffic rules if the policemen are honest and they do not take
\nany bribes.<\/p>\n
I am confident that my proposals would be successful because
\nit could lighten the traffic. The government may say that it will
\ncost a lot of money, but I say in the long run, the benefit is
\nstill much bigger than the cost. Without traffic jams, we can
\nsave a lot of time and a lot of gasoline, and we could become
\nmore productive because we can arrive at our school or office on
\ntime.<\/p>\n
I hope that the government and the people of Jakarta will
\nconsider my proposals seriously, and everybody will do their best
\nto reduce the traffic jams. Thank you for your attention.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,
\nTatya Christabella<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/letter-5-1447899208",
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