'Draft bylaw won't solve transportation woes in city'

'Draft bylaw won't solve transportation woes in city'

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The draft bylaw on Jakarta's transportation system, submitted by
Governor Sutiyoso last week, met with strong criticism on
Thursday from City Council, which said that it failed to solve
the city's traffic woes.

During a plenary session to hear responses from the 11
factions on City Council, councilors pointed out that the
ambitious bill does not reflect the current reality of traffic
and transportation facilities in the capital.

"The draft bylaw should be able to resolve Jakarta's traffic
problems, especially the congestion and unorganized traffic
system," Totok Ismunandar of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) said.

He told the session, which was attended by Sutiyoso, that the
bill does not outline a comprehensive policy on the
transportation system.

Totok added that the administration shunned the need to
regulate air transportation, citing the growing trend that many
companies and hotels had started renting out helicopters for
business activities.

The draft bylaw, consisting of 19 chapters and 111 articles,
has long been awaited to replace Bylaw No. 9, 1992 on Traffic and
Land Transportation in Jakarta, which many say is outdated and no
longer relevant for controlling the city's traffic.

The new bylaw is expected to provide the city with a
comprehensive transportation system, which includes bus services,
an MRT system, a railway network and water transportation.

The administration said that in the future, all large city
buses would be integrated with the busway system, which is being
developed by the administration.

Large buses will only operate on the main roads, while medium-
sized buses will run on feeder routes, integrating their services
with those operating the busway, while smaller public vehicles
will support the medium-sized bus system.

However, the draft bylaw did not detail the controversial
busway project, which is scheduled to be operational later this
year.

The Indonesian Military (TNI)/National Police faction on City
Council questioned why the bill did not elaborate on the busway
plan.

"Moreover, the draft bylaw requires all buses to enter bus
terminals. But it neglects the fact that the terminals cannot
accommodate all the buses," said the faction's speaker, Dody
Sudarno.

The bill also failed to provide a solution on how to deal with
thugs who often threaten drivers for money at bus terminals and
other shelters, he added.

The Golkar faction also criticized the bill for including a
plan to promote water transportation in the capital when the
city's rivers are less than 15 meters wide and there are no
waterways suitable for transportation as they do not connect with
other places.

Totok said the administration should explain whether it had
gained the authority to manage railways and water transportation
systems since they are under the control of the central
government.

Golkar and other factions questioned several articles in the
draft bylaw, which allow the governor to make exceptions to the
regulations, saying it could encourage the abuse of legal
mechanisms and corruption.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) faction queried a
stipulation in the bill that fines pedestrians who do not walk on
the sidewalk.

"It would be unfair if a pedestrian is locked up for three
months or told to pay a Rp 5 million (US$602) fine just because
he or she did not use the sidewalks, which are already crowded
with street vendors and parked vehicles," PKB's Abbas Saleh
Ma'mun told the session.

The draft bylaw recommends the establishment of a special
agency to oversee the transportation networks, but it did not
give any details on the new body.