Revolution is right on streets, General Sutiyoso<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
When one looks at the evolution of Jakarta one cannot go past
\nGovernor Ali Sadikin who was once dubbed the city's \"father of
\ndevelopment\".<\/p>\n
For many, Ali's reign over the city was controversial as it
\nwas successful. During his 11-year tenure from 1966-1977, he
\nlegalized gambling in a limited way, designating several legal
\ncasino areas that were \"protected\" by officials, who were likely
\nto have benefited financially from the scheme.<\/p>\n
However, much of the official revenue earned from gambling
\ntaxes was then used to finance development projects in the city.
\nAfter criticism from ulema and other religious leaders, gambling
\nwas later banned in the city but the developments gained from the
\nscheme remain.<\/p>\n
During the past few years, the incumbent governor, Sutiyoso,
\nhas focused his development projects on transportation. One
\ncould, correctly as it turns out, assume he wishes to be lauded
\nas \"the father of transportation\" of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Sources close to the governor confirm this. \"He wants to
\nemulate Ali ... but in terms of transport,\" one said.<\/p>\n
But despite all the transport talk, and the creation of the
\ncity's new busway link, many Jakartans remain unimpressed.<\/p>\n
\"I can only wonder if he (Sutiyoso) is serious or it is all
\njust rhetoric,\" Candra Wijaya, a resident of Kebon Jeruk, West
\nJakarta, who regularly sits in jams to and from his work, said.<\/p>\n
Candra, who says he often feels trapped in this city, is not
\nalone. Studies show that the average traveling speed in the city
\nis only 14.75 kilometers an hour. This snail's pace also affects
\nthe city's economy -- and the money estimated lost because of
\ninefficiencies from traffic jams reaches Rp 41.05 billion
\n(US$4.56 million) a day.<\/p>\n
The jams are exacerbated by the constantly increasing numbers
\nof vehicles in the city, which currently stand at about 4.7
\nmillion, some 1.3 million of which are private cars.<\/p>\n
Cheap fuel, bank loans and competitive prices for cars and
\nmotorcycles have encouraged more people to start buying vehicles.
\nThe lack of comfortable or safe public transportation to many
\nparts of the city also encourages this trend.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso's supporters say he has a comprehensive and
\nintegrated master-plan of the city's transportation system in
\nhand. The plan controls the operation of private cars and
\nmotorcycles in the city, along with public transport: trains, the
\nbusway, the planned monorail and river systems but does not deal
\nwith the existing bajaj (three-wheeled taxis) and ojek
\n(motorcycle taxis). Nevertheless, they say with this plan
\nSutiyoso will achieve his dream of a jam-free city.<\/p>\n
This macro system is the basis for the development of
\ntransportation in the city until 2010. Seemingly designed to
\nplease everyone, it includes traditional road infrastructure work
\nalong with the development of a mandatory bicycle lane. The plan
\nhas been Sutiyoso's mantra during the past two years.<\/p>\n
\"These projects represent (the administration's) substantial
\nefforts to solve traffic woes in the city. We are on the brink of
\na revolution in our transportation system and we must be
\nsuccessful. Otherwise, the city will become totally gridlocked by
\n2014 with at least 138 new cars coming onto city streets every
\nday,\" the governor has said.<\/p>\n
His critics say the busway, stage one of which began
\noperations on Jan. 15, has yet to achieve its aim of encouraging
\nprivate car owners to use public transport and reduce jams.<\/p>\n
However, a survey by the New York-based Institute
\nTransportation and Development Policy (ITDP) has revealed that 14
\npercent of the busway's daily commuters were private car owners
\nor passengers. The figure is much higher than in the busway's
\nbirthplace, the city of Bogota, Columbia, where only 4.7 percent
\nof its users are private car owners.<\/p>\n
But its 40,000 daily passengers is still lower than the 51-bus
\nfleet system's total capacity of some 60,000 commuters a day.<\/p>\n
The administration has insisted that the busway is only part
\nof the solution to the city's traffic woes -- a feeder system to
\nthe proposed mass rapid transit system (MRT). Many transportation
\nand urban planning experts believe the MRT is the best solution
\nto the congestion in Jakarta, which accommodates about 12 million
\npeople during the day and 10 million at night.<\/p>\n
At the moment, many say the busway is a cause of still more
\ntraffic jams. There is no doubt that for those who continue to
\nuse the non-busway lanes that congestion is now even worse in the
\ncity, particularly during peak hours.<\/p>\n
The public have also witnessed some of the technical flaws of
\nthe system; most obviously the damaged busway lanes -- the
\nasphalt along Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin was only of a
\n\"driveway standard\" meant for private cars and not the regular
\nflow of large buses.<\/p>\n
The city has spent at least Rp 238 billion on the construction
\nof the corridor and the procurement of the buses, while busway
\nmanagement received Rp 15 billion in public money this year for
\noperational costs.<\/p>\n
Next year, Sutiyoso's administration will complete the
\nconstruction of the Rp 600 billion second busway corridor from
\nthe under-construction Pulo Gebang bus terminal in East Jakarta
\nto Kalideres, West Jakarta, via the National Monument (Monas) in
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The administration has extended the three-in-one traffic
\npolicy to support the busway. The policy requires a private car
\nto have at least three passengers when passing through the
\nrestricted zones; from Jl. Sisingamangaraja, South Jakarta, to
\nKota in West Jakarta and from the Senayan overpass on Jl. Gatot
\nSubroto to the Kuningan intersection. The restrictions are
\nenforced from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the morning and from 4:30 p.m.
\nto 7 p.m. in the afternoon. Previously, the three-in-one
\nrestriction was shorter; from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.<\/p>\n
The government's promise to make public an evaluation of the
\nscheme after six months of the busway, unfortunately, has not
\nbeen kept. The city has yet to reveal its accountability report
\non the project, which was paid for by taxpayers' money.<\/p>\n
The public will know little more until the 15-strong City
\nTransportation Council, which was established under Bylaw No.
\n12\/2003 on transportation, begins work. However, the council can
\nonly make recommendations to the governor and does not yet have
\nany defined authority or tasks.<\/p>\n
Along with the busway, there is the administration's much-
\nvaunted monorail system. But four months since then president
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri first broke the ground on the project, the
\nUS$650 million venture is mired in a public consultation process.<\/p>\n
Developer PT Jakarta Monorail has promised that the
\nconstruction of the monorail lines -- the \"green line\" that will
\nserve a 14.8-kilometer route in the city's lucrative business
\ndistricts of Kuningan, Sudirman and Senayan and the \"blue line\"
\nthat will serve a 12.2-kilometer route from Kampung Melayu in
\nEast Jakarta to Taman Anggrek in West Jakarta -- would start soon
\nand the lines would be operation by 2006 and early 2007
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
The monorail will be capable of ferrying up to 270,000
\npassengers per day with fares ranging between Rp 3,500 and Rp
\n7,500 for a single journey.<\/p>\n
The administration is also going ahead with traditional road
\ninfrastructure projects and plans to build 17 new under and
\noverpasses from 2002 to 2007. Environmentalists have said these
\nprojects would only encourage motorists to keep using their cars.<\/p>\n
Despite all the city's plans, there are other suggestions that
\nexperts say could and should be taken into account. Vehicle age
\nlimitations, road pricing and progressive taxes for those owning
\nmore than one car are just some of the options available to the
\nadministration to keep traffic in the city down.<\/p>\n
And by the end of 2005 the public, currently still trapped in
\ndaily gridlock, should know far better if Sutiyoso's \"revolution
\nin transport\" will materialize. Time will tell.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/revolution-is-right-on-streets-general-sutiyoso-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}