Sutiyoso rejects executive bus idea<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso turned down on Tuesday a proposal made
\nby the TransJakarta Busway management to add executive-class
\nbuses to the busway project, which would occupy space in the
\ndedicated lane.<\/p>\n
"Forget it! Our focus is to make perfect the existing busway
\nproject. We shall reject the plan (for an executive-class busway)
\nif they (the management) insist," he said at City Hall.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso said that his administration had yet to receive
\nofficial proposals for the plan. He was responding to the busway
\nmanagement's proposal to add executive-class buses and widen some
\nparts of the road along the 12.9-kilometer corridor from Blok M,
\nSouth Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta, to allow buses to overtake
\neach other. The plan would reduce the road width available for
\nother road users.<\/p>\n
Busway management infrastructure division head Taufik
\nAdiwianto claimed, "Bogota also has executive-class buses".<\/p>\n
The Jakarta administration copied Bogota's TransMilenio when
\npreparing the busway project. While the TransMilenio can
\naccommodate around 160 passengers per bus, the busway can only
\ntransport 80 people.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso also emphasized that the purpose of the road widening
\nproject was to alleviate increased traffic congestion because one
\nof the three fast lanes had been taken for the busway project.<\/p>\n
The Rp 15 billion (US$1.79 million) project will convert the
\ntwo existing fast lanes into three by taking parts of the median
\nstrip along Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin, without felling any
\ntrees. The project will commence in March and is expected to be
\ncompleted in May.<\/p>\n
The width of each lane will be reduced from three meters to
\n2.75 meters, while the width of the median strip between the fast
\nand slow lanes will be reduced on either side by 1.5 meters.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso added that his administration would go ahead with the
\nplan to equip all busway pedestrian bridges with canopies and to
\nbuy 40 more buses for the busway. The administration has
\nallocated Rp 120 billion for this.<\/p>\n
"Canopy construction and procurement of the buses should be
\nfinished this year. I told my subordinates to speed up," he said.<\/p>\n
So far, only two of 23 pedestrian bridges are equipped with
\ncanopies -- at the Jakarta Police Headquarters and the Bank
\nIndonesia bus shelters.<\/p>\n
An underpass for busway passengers will also be built in Kota.<\/p>\n
The busway project, which was inaugurated on Jan. 15, has been
\nunder fire due to the administration's poor implementation. The
\ncity's original aim of encouraging private car owners to use the
\nbusway has yet to succeed as the major thoroughfares in the
\ncapital are still crammed with private vehicles.<\/p>\n
During the free-ride trial period, many Jakartans
\nenthusiastically tried the busway for fun. Long queues could be
\nseen at both Blok M bus terminal and the Kota shelter.<\/p>\n
The administration's decision to extend the three-in-one
\ntraffic policy was also condemned, as legal experts said it had
\nno legal basis.<\/p>",
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