'Grand plan or just more bogus projects?'

The city administration has announced plans to construct a monorail and expand the busway system. However, there are doubts that these efforts will be enough to ease the capital's chronic traffic congestion. The Jakarta Post asked residents for their opinion on the matter.

Ramlan, 35, works at state-owned electricity company PLN's branch office on Jl. Sisingamangaraja in South Jakarta. He lives with his wife and daughter in Ciledug, Tangerang:

I think the monorail and busway expansion projects are good ideas, because Jakarta does need a better transportation system to solve its traffic situation.

But I hope the city administration has thoroughly planned them out to ensure the projects achieve their goals and don't become a waste of money -- the public's money, to be precise.

As an employee of a state enterprise, I know how such projects will always be under public scrutiny. Any unsatisfactory results will immediately bring about criticism and allegations of corruption and markups.

So we'll just have to see what kind of projects the busway and monorail will be: truly grand transportation designs for the city, or just more bogus projects.

Rotua Simanjuntak, 30, is an employee at a civil engineering firm on Jl. R.A. Kartini in South Jakarta. She lives with her husband and daughter in Cinere, South Jakarta:

I don't often take public transportation because I don't go out much. But from what I've heard from my friends who have to take public transportation to the office or to go other places, traffic congestion has become more difficult to bear.

I think the problem lies in the administration's failure to control the number of both public and private vehicles in the city. The officials should address this problem first before adding more modes of transportation in the city.

I fear that the monorail and busway projects will only benefit a few officials, who definitely are not users of public transportation.

-- The Jakarta Post