Gaikindo opposes idea to limit car sales in city
Gaikindo opposes idea to limit car sales in city
JAKARTA (JP): Limiting the number of cars sold in Jakarta in
order to ease the chronic traffic problem is impossible, the
chairman of the Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries
(Gaikindo) said yesterday.
It would affect other sectors and disturb national economic
growth, said Herman Z. Latief, the association's chairman.
Herman was responding to a suggestion by the City Council's
deputy speaker, Ismunandar, who said limiting the sale of cars in
the city could help cure the lingering traffic woes.
"Seventy percent of nation-wide car sales are in Java, and
Greater Jakarta is the biggest market," Herman said.
Of the 370,000 cars sold in the country in 1996, 150,000 were
sold in Greater Jakarta, he told The Jakarta Post.
He said Jakartans' purchasing power was increasing in line
with the economic growth.
Antara reported that Jakarta's per capita income increased
from US$3,200 in 1995 to $3,600 in 1996.
Councilor Ismunandar said car sale promotions here were very
aggressive despite the absence of research on the real number of
vehicles needed by Jakartans.
The central government, he said, was supposed to help the city
administration find ways to curb the traffic sickness. One way
was limiting the number of car sold in Jakarta, he said.
Many people have suggested old cars be banned from operating
on city roads to curb traffic problems.
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said last month that banning old
cars from the roads would not be that easy.
People would think twice before replacing their cars with new
ones, he said.
Ismunandar said banning old cars would be a great benefit in
the future. Therefore, he urged the city administration not to
worry about the public's reaction to it.
The city is home to about nine million people and has more
than 2.1 million vehicles. The length of the capital's roads is
less than 6,000 kilometers.
Surjadi blamed traffic problems on a mismatch between new road
construction, only four percent per year, and a rapid increase in
vehicle ownership, 14 percent per year.
Experts say new roads will not guarantee smooth traffic in the
capital. (11)