An integrated problem

In the early 1980s the then Jakarta Traffic Police chief said at a seminar that the capital's traffic problem was only the tip of the iceberg.

Two decades later -- after hundreds of similar seminars, talks and discussions -- the tip of the iceberg is still there, with no sign of its removal.

Numerous efforts have been made by the capital's authorities to ease traffic congestion by constructing roads, the most popular and affordable action.

We all know that new roads will not remedy the city's traffic headache, which has become more acute.

Worse still, while new roads are being constructed, existing roads are being inundated with new cars of various brands and sizes. And there has been no action to stop it.

The uncontrolled increase in the number of motorized vehicles on the capital's roads has long been considered one of the main causes of traffic chaos.

The latest data indicates that the number of vehicles has been increasing by 10 percent per year from 1.65 million in 1990 to 4.16 million in 2000. While last year's record, made available by the city administration, indicated that the capital had a total of 6,528 kilometers of road, including the urban turnpikes.

Traffic chaos has frustrated drivers, both those driving private cars as well as public transportation drivers. The result is recklessness and indifference toward road rules, which lead to violations.

Being caught in a traffic jam is a daily occurrence and it is common to see public buses and private cars ignoring traffic lights or using the wrong lanes.

Many of us may, at times, feel victimized by such unscrupulous drivers, who never seem afraid of being booked by the police.

Law enforcement is the key.

According to Article 61 of Law No. 14/1992 on land transportation, those found violating traffic signs are subject to one year in jail or a maximum fine of Rp 1 million.

Only a few traffic policemen have taken their findings from the street to the courtroom, to have the offending drivers properly punished. What usually happens is that violations are settled on the spot between the traffic police and the drivers, who have to pay a certain amount of money -- depending on the level of seriousness of the offense, to the officer.

People consider the corrupt mentality common, while officials turn a blind eye to the issue.

Since the government, including the city administration, has failed to halt the increase in the number of motorized vehicles and eliminate corrupt law enforcers, it has promoted its ambitious plan to deal with the traffic: the construction of a mass rapid transit (MRT) system.

The plan is, to some degree, realistic, as an MRT system is considered the best cure for the capital's traffic. But then again an MRT system could prove unrealistic.

The MRT system, which is expected to transport a large number of people to and from their places of work in a very short time, will be very expensive. About four years after the idea to construct the MRT system was announced in the early 1990s, the cost was estimated to be at least US$1.5 billion, a fantastic amount of money given that Jakarta's provincial budget in 2002 only amounted to $903 million.

Another factor that has drawn skepticism is the fact that constructing an MRT system in Jakarta, which houses at least 10 million people, would be extremely complicated. The space required to support the construction of an MRT system would have to be taken from residential areas, some of which are very densely populated.

If the MRT project is later found to be unfeasible, people would have to use the existing transportation vehicles, including trains, which are far from comfortable and safe. For those who have their own cars, they will have no other option but use then to get to their destinations.

Judging from the facts, it appears that the city administration has no integrated plan to deal with the complex traffic problem. There is no integral plan to combine the provision of the most appropriate mode of transportation and to improve law enforcement.

It is doubtful that the capital's traffic problems will be cured within the next decade. This is because officials and law enforcers, as well as drivers -- all who should have demonstrated their best and worked together to solve these complicated problems -- are, in fact, part of the confusion. What we actually have is not an integrated plan, but an integrated problem.