Govt agencies unenthused by transportation study

Govt agencies unenthused by transportation study

Bambang Nurbianto and Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

Officials of local administrations in Greater Jakarta expressed
reluctance on Monday to adopt recommendations of a study on a
transportation master plan proposed by the Japanese International
Cooperation Agency (JICA), citing financial constraints as the
major problem.

In a seminar held in the capital, Jakarta and Bekasi officials
questioned a few points recommended in the study on the
integrated transportation master plan for Greater Jakarta
(SITRAMP) which they said were not convincing.

Head of the system development unit for the Jakarta
Transportation Agency, D.A. Rini, for example, pointed to the
recommendation to increase fuel tax, which if implemented could
result in the collection of some Rp 14 trillion (US$1.6 billion)
in 2020 in revenue.

"Without clear assumptions on the economic condition when the
tax increase would be implemented, this proposal cannot work ...
at any rate increases are a sensitive issue that could spark
public protests," she said.

Her Bekasi counterpart, Subarto, also criticized the study
which he said was only made to suit Jakarta as it gave greater
emphasis on the busway project.

According to Subarto, some of the recommendations even
contradicted the Bekasi transportation master plan. "I don't see
that the study is applicable in our region," he told The Jakarta
Post on the sidelines of the seminar.

The study offers solutions to transportation problems through
various proposed projects through to 2020, including road
development, traffic engineering, better transportation
management and better public transportation.

It says without such improvement, economic losses caused by
traffic congestion would increase to Rp 70.3 trillion in 2020
from the current Rp 5.5 trillion.

Many transportation analysts in attendance commented that the
reluctance to adopt the measures was mostly caused by a conflict
of interests among them.

Haruo Ishida, a professor at Tsukuba University in Tokyo, who
lead the advisory team for SITRAMP emphasized the importance of
cooperation among local administrations.

"It will be difficult to implement any master plan without
cooperation among related organizations and regions," he said.

Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo also called on all administrations
in Greater Jakarta to work together and to share a common vision
in solving transportation problems as all of the surrounding
cities are interconnected.

"We can no longer consider our own interests without giving
concessions to other cities.

"But, I must admit that sometimes we in Jakarta tend to
consider ourselves to be more important in view of our position
as the nation's capital."