3-in-1 traffic policy back in gear

JAKARTA (JP): While in search of a suitable system to handle traffic problems during rush hours, Governor Sutiyoso instructed the City Traffic and Land Transportation Agency on Thursday to reenact the temporarily suspended three-in-one policy in the city's restricted areas.

"An evaluation of the three-in-one policy was held because it has encouraged children to serve as traffic jockeys," city spokesman Muhayat said at City Hall.

The agency netted 1,402 jockeys and fined 1,292 vehicles in various operations from Aug. 24 last year until Feb. 4.

The policy was temporarily revoked from Feb. 7 until Feb. 25 for evaluation purposes.

Agency head Buyung Atang presented the evaluation of the three-week suspension to the governor earlier in the morning.

"We didn't revoke the policy at all. We just loosened it for evaluation purposes," Buyung said, while admitting that the number of passing private cars increased dramatically after the policy was loosened.

In the period from Jan. 31 until Feb. 4, the agency recorded 89,726 private vehicles and 47,153 public vehicles passing through the restricted areas during weekday rush hours.

There were 180,504 private cars passing through the areas during the first week of the study, 246,297 and 266,243 cars during the second and third week. Meanwhile, the number of public transportation vehicles passing through the areas were 54,599, 56,237, and 57,167 for the same period.

Buyung said the city administration would establish a working group to seek a replacement for the current system.

"The group's members will consist of city officials, city councilors, community leaders, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI)," he said.

He said the proposed system would include the use of a sticker system, whether as a single system or combined with the current system.

"The group may also submit proposals or solutions to arrive at the best system," he said. (nvn)