How messed up is Jakarta's traffic?

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

People often assume that if traffic is congested less accidents will occur, as the slower flow of vehicles will restrain reckless drivers.

But, it seems that in Jakarta, where traffic jams are as regular as they are tiresome, this rule is not applicable.

Jakarta's streets, reaching a total of 7,576 kilometers in length, must accommodate 4.7 million vehicles, not to mention intercity vehicles also using inner city roads.

Data from Jakarta Police Traffic Division shows that the number of fatal traffic accidents in the capital between January and August soared by 37 percent to 334, compared to 243 in the corresponding period of last year.

Jakarta Police Traffic Division chief Sr. Comr. Sulistyo Ishak blamed motorists' negligence of traffic rules as the main cause of the fatal accidents.

"Almost 80 percent of traffic accidents were mainly due to violations of traffic rules," he said.

A total of 368 people were killed in traffic accidents last year. Another 682 were seriously injured and 420 suffered minor injuries. Material losses amounted to more than Rp 3.7 billion (US$435,294).

Between January and August, the number of traffic accidents reported rose by only four percent, or 806 cases compared to 777 in the same period of last year.

Sulistyo also suggested that the poor discipline of motorists was to blame for the rising number of traffic violations.

Police data shows that the number of motorists ticketed jumped from 16,643 in January and 16,039 in February, to 40,889 in August and 41,732 in September.

Traffic jams may be a stressful daily experience for motorists and such conditions trigger exhaustion and careless driving.

An urban planning expert from Trisakti University, Yayat Supriyatna called Jakarta a "stressful metropolis" given that the city is overcrowded, and there are a myriad of social, political, and economic problems, including traffic congestion.

"The relation between traffic congestion and (traffic) accidents is evident," said transportation expert Darmaningtyas.

Simplistic maybe, but experts believe the main cause of traffic congestion is the massive number of vehicles on the streets.

A policewoman, directing traffic at Grogol intersection, West Jakarta, grumbled that street vendors and pedestrians, who ignore traffic rules and signs, also contributed to the traffic woes.

"In many cases, traffic signs are simply ignored," she said, referring to the severe congestion at Grogol intersection in West Jakarta and an intersection near Christian University of Indonesia (UKI) in Cawang, East Jakarta.

"On the roadside close to Citibank Landmark building in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, and near Senen market in Central Jakarta, street vendors even occupy two of three road lanes," she said.

Beside people's poor discipline, the traffic is worsened by poor traffic infrastructures. At least 1,756 traffic signs reportedly went missing or were damaged in 2000. Throughout Jakarta has a total of 56,600 traffic signs.

There are two solutions proposed by transportation experts.

First, the city should integrate its transportation system so that public transportation can provide reliable services in terms of on-time arrival and departure, comfort, as well as safety.

Second, it should discourage the use of motorized vehicles by, among other measures, imposing higher car taxes, higher parking fees, or strict regulations on road worthiness.

The city administration has been trying to adopt the first proposal by introducing the controversial busway and monorail projects. Although, these plans have failed to convince the public that they are surefire solutions.

"Problems are yet to be addressed, including how the feeder transportation system (to support the busway and monorail) will be managed," said Jack Sumabrata, a transportation expert of the University of Indonesia.

In addition, the administration has failed to discourage people from driving cars, rather than using public transportation.

The construction of overpasses and underpasses is simply encouraging people to purchase more cars and further burdens the city streets.

In addition, an influx of cheaper cars on the market, coupled with widespread access to loans and an aggressive banking system, offering doorprizes etc. also attracts more people to buy cars.

Under such conditions, the average annual eight percent growth of car ownership will continue to soar in the future.

With more cars inundating the city roads, then, the vicious circle of transportation woes will become harder to break. More cars spell severe traffic congestions; severer traffic congestion means more stress for motorists; more stress will lead to careless driving and careless driving will result in more traffic accidents.

It is interesting to observe the results of the latest survey conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as part of the Study on the Integrated Transportation Master Plan for Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi (SITRAMP).

The survey finds that massive traffic jams during peak hours have been worsening, and the economic loss caused by the congestion now amounts to Rp 5.5 trillion annually.

The survey also says that cumulative economic losses up to 2020 are estimated to reach Rp 70.3 trillion, or almost 12 times higher than today's economic losses, if no significant efforts are made to resolve the chronic transportation problems.

If the condition of the roads deteriorates with the projected economic losses, by 2020 driving in Jakarta will be more than 12 times worse than it is today. Most Jakartans would rather not imagine this situation.