After fanfare, busway project now postponed

After fanfare, busway project now postponed

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Due to a lack of public consultation and financial
preparation, the city administration decided on Wednesday to
postpone the Rp 54 billion (US$6 million) busway project
connecting Blok M in South Jakarta with downtown Kota in West
Jakarta.

"Technically we are ready to (launch the project), but the
social and financial aspects need to be studied further," Deputy
Governor Fauzi Bowo told reporters before attending a plenary
session of the City Council.

Fauzi explained that the financial problems included whether
subsidies should be paid to bus operators or to the passengers.

"Meanwhile, the social aspect has to do with the public being
used to using the left lane. We need to prepare the public for
using the right lane.

"These problems need to be studied more deeply than in our
first study," Fauzi explained.

Asked when the administration would complete the social and
financial preparations, and be ready to launch the project, the
city secretary's development assistant Irzal Jamal said, "It will
need at least eight months."

Irsal said the city administration needed to select bus
operators and prepare for the purchase of the buses by open
tender, besides familiarizing the public with the project.

The project, which is aimed at solving traffic congestion, has
been on the drawing board since last year with a feasibility
study being undertaken by transportation experts from the
Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University.

Many people, including councillors, fear that the project
could actually worsen traffic problems as it will involve the
setting aside of a dedicated lane in each direction along the
roads it will serve.

Besides traffic jams, it is also feared the project will cause
environmental damage as it will necessitate the felling of
hundreds of trees in the median strip along the Blok M-Kota
route, especially along Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Jl. Jend. Sudirman,
and Jl. MH. Thamrin.

However, the City Council approved the project in January this
year along with their approval of the 2002 city budget. It was
previously planned to launch the project this month.

The city administration earlier announced that six bus
manufacturers, Hyundai from South Korea, Mercedez of Germany,
Dong Feng of China, Hino of Japan, Icarus from Hungary and
Perkasa (owned by local firm PT Texmaco), had been pre-selected
for the purchase of 50 new buses for the project.

Besides purchasing the buses, the administration plans to
build 29 shelters and 18 pedestrian bridges for the project.

According to the project plan, the bus drivers would be paid
monthly salaries of about Rp 3 million while passengers would pay
through a ticketing system to be established by the
administration.

Currently, bus drivers pay daily rental fees to the bus
companies or owners. This system forces the drivers to focus only
on meeting their targets with the result that they ignore traffic
rules and passenger safety.

During the City Council plenary session on Wednesday,
councillor Soleh Rahman of the council's Commission A for legal
and administrative affairs supported the postponement of the
project.

"Due to the lack of preparation, especially the socialization
program, Commission A supports the postponing of the project,"
Soleh of the National Mandate Party said.

Councillor Ajarta Sebayang of the council's Commission D for
development affairs said his commission also supported the
delaying of the project.

"We would suggest that the money be used for more important
projects, such as the procurement of traffic lights," Ajarta of
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said.