The three-in-one game<\/p>\n
The much criticized three-in-one traffic policy is still in
\nplace and will apparently remain so for an uncertain amount of
\ntime although it has been a fiasco from the beginning. Since the
\nordinance was imposed in April 1992, the traffic system has
\nfailed to achieve its initial aim of ending -- or at least of
\neasing -- peak hour traffic congestion along the city's main
\nthoroughfares, mainly from the end of Jl. Sisingamangaraja in
\nSouth Jakarta to the north end of Jl. MH Thamrin in Central
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
But what we have seen since 1992 is that the policy was only
\nworkable during the first months. The end result is a frustrating
\nfailure. At the beginning, the drivers of privately owned cars
\ncarrying fewer than three passengers had to avoid the
\nthoroughfares which were closed to them. This caused nasty
\ntraffic snarls in nearby areas. But soon afterwards, the
\nrestricted zones themselves again became a hell of congestion.<\/p>\n
What the city authorities did not foresee was the possibility
\nthat the people -- however humble they might be -- would find
\nways to make the best use of loopholes in the traffic ordinance
\nfor their own ends. This oversight on the part of the authorities
\nmight have been caused by their belief that only the middle class
\nwould have the wits to introduce a new hide-and-seek game with
\nthe law enforcers.<\/p>\n
And it was clearly very frustrating for the police authorities
\nto see how school boys were mocking the regulation by offering
\nthemselves as the second and third passengers for hire. The
\nauthorities have repeatedly tried to crack down on this farce,
\nbut the children, and some enterprising adults, are still there
\nbecause they are part of the county's economic and social
\nparadox.<\/p>\n
They stand along the streets leading to the restricted zones
\noffering their services by holding up a number of fingers
\nindicating how many passengers they can provide. The presence of
\nthe often poorly clad people contrasts strongly with the passing
\nvehicles, of which many foreigners would comment \"none is old\".<\/p>\n
So the traffic congestion returned. The three-in-one system
\nhas clearly failed to reach its intended target. And the fiasco
\nin the initial trial zone has apparently deterred the authorities
\nfrom expanding the policy to other parts of the city, while many
\npeople are calling for the revocation of the system.<\/p>\n
To salvage the city administration's tarnished image, the City
\nCouncil aired the idea this week that the policy should be
\nreplaced by a sticker system. The Council said cars carrying less
\nthan three passengers should pay Rp 1,000 (49 cents US dollars)
\nper trip. The councilors said that motorists also could buy
\nstickers on monthly basis from the city administration for Rp
\n25,000 per car. According to the logic, with this sticker any car
\nwill be allowed to enter the restricted areas no matter how many
\npassengers it carries. The drivers of cars without stickers
\nshould be ticketed.<\/p>\n
The idea sounds logical, but it also is not free of loopholes
\nbecause the stickers can be counterfeited and it will be
\nimpossible to monitor who has stickers and who does not amid the
\nchaotic traffic. Besides, imposing fines on traffic violators has
\nproven ineffective because the officers in charge can be bribed.<\/p>\n
Jakarta's traffic problems are not as simple as many people
\nmay believe. The core of the problem is the rapid increase in the
\nnumber of cars compared and the slow development of
\ninfrastructure. There are now 2.6 million vehicles in Jakarta.
\nThat figure means that if each car is three meters long, and if
\nall of them were on the road on a given day, they would require
\n7,800 kilometers of road, while the city has only 5,683
\nkilometers.<\/p>\n
Worse still, the data available at the city administration
\noffices indicates that the number of vehicle grows by 11 percent
\nannually compared to the growth of infrastructure which stands at
\nfour percent yearly.<\/p>\n
With this nation entering the second half of a century of
\nindependence, Jakarta still has to fight to narrow the gap
\nbetween infrastructure and the demands of traffic. But the worst
\nheadache for the Jakarta is that this capital city of a nation
\nwith a growing economy has not developed an integrated
\ntransportation system that takes into account all the factors and
\nelements that help facilitate traffic flow.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-three-in-one-game-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}