Transportation a time-old problem<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The city's metamorphic public transportation system captured in a
\nphoto exhibition at the Jakarta History Museum on Jl. Fatahillah,
\nWest Jakarta, revealed more than development in progress.<\/p>\n
Visitors of the Governors and Transportation exhibition saw
\nthe photos -- taken by photojournalists since Ali Sadikin's
\nadministration in the 1960s and 1970s, \"as an exposure of the
\ngovernors' failure to handle transportation woes\".<\/p>\n
\"From all the photos, I realized that conditions have not
\nchanged at all. You can still find the same traffic jams and
\nchaos at bus stations in the photos taken in the 1970s,\" said a
\nvisitor, Teguh Dewa Brata.<\/p>\n
As in the subtitle, From Becak (three-wheeled pedicab) to
\nMonorail, nearly all modes of transportation from each era are
\nstill present, competing for passengers.<\/p>\n
One of the photos showed a traditional horse-drawn carriage
\ntrotted in the bus lane of thoroughfare Jl. Sudirman, while a
\nline of buses queued behind it.<\/p>\n
The 100-odd photographs, which are from the museum's
\ncollection, also known as Fatahillah Museum, the Jakarta
\nadministration and Kompas newspaper, also depicted the familiar
\nuncontrolled development of transportation.<\/p>\n
The exhibition is being held from June 21 to July 21 in
\nobservance of the city's 478th anniversary which fell on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Another visitor, Anita Dharmawan, said that the exhibition
\nalso showed that none of the governors had succeeded in
\nformulating long-term solutions for public transportation.<\/p>\n
\"I wonder why they were unable to provide low-cost, safe and
\nfast mass transportation for their citizens, while they could
\nbuild high-rise buildings, towers, apartments and malls,\" said
\nAnita.<\/p>\n
The photo exhibition shows public transportation from the Ali
\nSadikin administration (1966 to 1977) to the Sutiyoso
\nadministration (1997 to date), and shows how each governor had
\ntheir own perspective in dealing with the problems.<\/p>\n
In the 1970s, the administration introduced the limited
\npassenger Patas bus to avoid overcrowding buses, but it failed.
\nWhile the dysfunctional Patas are still operational, the
\nadministration later introduced the air-conditioned Patas buses,
\ndouble-decker buses, and no-conductor buses to reduce private
\ncars on the street. All to no avail.<\/p>\n
In 1996, governor Soerjadi Soedirdja launched a Total Reform
\nSystem and Jakarta Transportation Management, the embryo of
\ntoday's transportation plan that includes the Mass Rapid
\nTransportation (MRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT), Bus Rapid Transit
\n(busway) and water transportation system.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso launched the busway on Jan. 14, 2004, the first route
\nof which connects Kota railway station, West Jakarta, and Blok M
\nbus terminal, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
However, Sutiyoso's modern mass transportation system was
\ncriticized for the huge investment needed, while its
\nconstruction, taking up one lane on busy major thoroughfares,
\nworsened traffic conditions.<\/p>\n
The museum's coordinator for exhibitions and education, Sri
\nKusumawati, said that besides intending to show Jakartans how the
\ngovernors dealt with the myriad problems of mass transportation
\nin the city, the exhibition also aimed to encourage discussion on
\nthe endemic problem.<\/p>\n
\"It's interesting to note how the governors have tried to
\nsolve the problems. Almost all their policies were controversial,
\nincluding Sutiyoso's plan to build the monorail. The museum hopes
\nthat the exhibition will also raise people's awareness so that
\nthey contribute solutions to the problem,\" she said. (006)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/transportation-a-time-old-problem-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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