Monorail project not viable now: Activists<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As the expiry date of the contract between the city
\nadministration and PT Jakarta Monorail draws near without
\nagreement, transportation activists are calling for an end to the
\nagreement, arguing the project is simply not feasible.<\/p>\n
Activists from the Indonesia Transportation Society (MTI), the
\nNew York-based Institute for Transportation and Development
\nPolicy (ITDP) and non-governmental organization Pelangi said
\nearlier this week that the project would only force the taxpayers
\nto shoulder the costly endeavor through expensive subsidies.<\/p>\n
\"The administration should make an evaluation of the contract
\nand look deeper into the possibility of calling off the deal
\nbefore it gets more difficult for the administration to withdraw
\nfrom the deal,\" MTI chairman Bambang Susantono told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Walter Hook of the ITDP concurred with Bambang, saying that
\nthe monorail project was not viable.<\/p>\n
\"I believe that the monorail will serve few people very well
\nand not the majority. But most people will pay for it,\" Hook
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Hook said his NGO carried out a survey of 120,000 passengers
\nusing public transport along the planned monorail routes and
\ndiscovered that the demand for the monorail service very low.<\/p>\n
ITDP estimated that the monorail's blue line would serve
\n25,000 passengers daily, while the green line only 7,000 riders,
\nmuch lower than the 77,562 and 38,650 passengers projected
\nearlier by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency on the
\nStudy of Integrated Transportation Master Plan for the Greater
\nJakarta (SITRAMP).<\/p>\n
\"The reason why the demand is very low is because the monorail
\nhas poor connections with the rest of the public transportation
\n(services) and its fare of Rp 5,000 a single trip is much higher
\nthan the bus fares,\" Hook said.<\/p>\n
PT Jakarta Monorail, handpicked to develop the monorail, has
\nrequested the city administration help subsidize the monorail
\nproject to maintain the fares at an affordable price of Rp 5,000.<\/p>\n
It also asked the administration to impose electronic road
\npricing along the monorail's routes to force motorists to switch
\nfrom their private cars to monorail cars.<\/p>\n
Hook said that he would prefer the busway to the monorail
\nowing to wide difference in the investment costs.<\/p>\n
\"The construction of one kilometer of busway corridor costs
\naround US$1 million, while the monorail spends at least $58
\nmillion per kilometer.\" Jakarta could develop entire busway
\nroutes across the city with the same amount of money earmarked
\nfor the monorail project, he said.<\/p>\n
Pelangi policy analyst Andi Rahmah, who is also a member of
\nthe Jakarta Transportation Council, said the busway outweighed
\nthe monorail in terms of sustainability.<\/p>\n
\"The investment as well as maintenance costs of the busway are
\nmuch less than the monorail. We don't even need to subsidize the
\nproject since the operation of the busway will be able to cover
\nmaintenance costs, and even make profits,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The fate of the 28-kilometer monorail project remains unclear,
\nalthough the concession contract between the administration and
\nits private partner, PT Jakarta Monorail, will expire on May 31.<\/p>\n
The agreement was signed on May 31, 2004. Under the
\nagreement, signed by Governor Sutiyoso and JM president director
\nRuslan Diwiryo, the company is required to complete a financial
\nclose within a year, which could be extended for another six
\nmonths. Beyond that, the two parties may have to sign another
\nagreement.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso said that he would extend the contract to give more
\ntime for the company to close a deal with potential financiers.<\/p>",
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