Jakarta administration to revise 3-in-1 traffic policy
Jakarta administration to revise 3-in-1 traffic policy
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
In response to demands by businessmen operating in Glodok
business district, West Jakarta, the Jakarta administration will
delay the afternoon three-in-one traffic restriction by half an
hour.
The new time will be from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Currently, the three-in-one policy -- in which a car must
carry at least three passengers when passing through the
restricted zone from Jl. Sisingamangaraja, South Jakarta, to
Kota, West Jakarta, and from the overpass of Jl. S. Parman,
Central Jakarta, to Kuningan intersection, South Jakarta -- is
applied from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Association of Indonesian Retailers (Aprindo) chairman Handaka
Santosa claimed earlier that the three-in-one policy had caused a
decline in profit of up to 50 percent for retailers in Glodok.
He said many working people preferred to go straight home
rather than visit shopping centers, to avoid being trapped in the
restricted zone.
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said on Tuesday that he approved the
revision, based on a recommendation by transportation experts
from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).
The ITB team questioned 480 respondents from a variety of
business sectors, whose offices are located within the restricted
zone, about the impact of the three-in-one policy on their
businesses.
Team leader Ofyar Z. Tamin said about 75 percent of the
respondents suffered a decline in profit from the traffic
restriction, implemented to support the busway, which runs from
Blok M to Kota.
"I will issue a decree (on the revision) within a few days. We
need to consult with the Jakarta Police prior to implementation
of the new policy," Sutiyoso said.
For the long term, Ofyar said, his team had recommended
electronic road pricing along the busway corridor as a way of
easing the burden on the roads during peak hours.
"It would take time because the city would need to make some
investment to implement such a policy," he added.
However, Sutiyoso would not approve the recommendation as it
would spark public controversy. "You could say that the (road
pricing) policy would favor only the 'haves'," he said.