'Banning old bangers won't reduce pollution, congestion'

'Banning old bangers won't reduce pollution, congestion'

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Restricting the number of older cars in Jakarta, as provided for
in the new draft bylaw on transportation, will not significantly
reduce vehicular emissions, say transportation observers.

Ari Mohammad, an executive with the Swisscontact environmental
organization, said on Wednesday that surveys conducted by his
organization showed that there was no correlation between the age
of cars and emissions.

"Swisscontact has been holding annual surveys on the reduction
of vehicular emissions, and one of the conclusions is that
there's no correlation between the age of the car and the
emissions it produces," Ari told members of the City Council's
Commission D for development affairs during a hearing.

Banning old cars from Jakarta's roads is provided for under
article 29 (2) of the draft bylaw on road, railway, river and
ferry transportation, which has been proposed by the city
administration.

The draft bylaw is being discussed by the council and relevant
officials from the administration. It is expected to be approved
in mid-August.

Ari said that vehicular emissions depended on how car owners
maintained their vehicles.

Based on the surveys that had been conducted, he said, many
old cars aged over 10 years were still environmentally friendly
in terms of emissions as they were well-maintained.

The survey also revealed that many cars produced since 2000
had high emissions due to poor maintenance.

City Transportation Agency chief Rustam Effendi had said
earlier that the banning of old cars from Jakarta's streets was
designed to improve air quality in the city.

The policy is also aimed at reducing the number of private
cars, which has now reached some 1.5 million, compared to public
transportation vehicles, which only number around 350,000.

Another transportation observer, Jack Sumabrata of the Pelangi
Foundation, said that restricting the number of private cars
would be required to reduce the city's notorious traffic jams,
particularly during peak hours.

However, he said, this could only be brought about by imposing
expensive parking fees across the city or restricting private
cars on certain sections of road based on their registration
numbers.

Jack disagreed with the banning of older cars as the
administration was not capable of providing proper public
transportation services.

He advised the administration to immediately improve public
transportation as this was the key to resolving the city's
transportation crisis.

"Good transportation is also the key to improving the quality
of Jakarta's air," Jack said.

There has been a public debate on the possible banning of
older cars since the 1980s, but this would be the first time that
such a ban would actually be included in a city bylaw.