Jakarta gridlock, problems and solutions

JAKARTA: Many residents here seem to take traffic jams for granted since it has become a daily occurrence as well as a characteristic of this city of more than 10 million people. Even though the congestion gets worse each year, many people have no other choice but to face it.

Nobody seems to do much about the fact that they have to allocate more time and spend more money for gasoline for their daily travels.

The wider effects of this extreme traffic congestion means wasted time and productivity. Workers who are trapped in gridlock, which sometimes lasts for hours, are usually unable to do anything productive, all the while becoming more stressed, which leads to even less productivity when they finally do arrive at their office or factory.

Apart from those essentially macro-economic issues, vehicles snared in traffic jams consume more fuel and produce more air pollution causing greater environmental degradation.

In 1995 alone, according to data from state-owned oil company Pertamina, over 2 million vehicles trapped in traffic jams consumed more than 3.8 million liters of fuel, a whopping increase of 17.2 percent from the previous year.

Data from the Environmental Impact Control Agency (Bappedal) reveals that the four million or so vehicles in the city produce 1.8 millimeters per cubic meter of particularly harmful lead pollutants.

This type of air pollution can be very detrimental to the human respiratory system.

The financial impact according to Bapedal is estimated to be some US$600 billion for Jakarta residents between the years 1996 and 2000 to treat patients with diseases caused by air pollutants.

It all adds up to more money spent on health care, more money for fuel, a deterioration of the environment and a worsening economy that cannot compete with other countries due to lost productivity.

Despite the numerous disadvantages of traffic jams to the country and the people, strangely, the agencies in charge of the roads do not seem particularly aware of this crisis. The city administration usually argues that the available roads around the city simply cannot accommodate the extensive number of vehicles, and nothing is done.

Data from Atmajaya University last year revealed that each year the number of vehicles here increases by nine percent.

The increase is due to the fact that most middle-class people tend to prefer commuting in private vehicles rather than the woefully dirty, crowded, inadequate and unsafe public transportation system here, according to Heru Nugroho, the head of Gadjah Mada University's Center for Transportation and Logistics Studies.

The already appalling condition of the entire public transportation system here is also worsening. Many bus passengers have experienced all manner of problems from harassment of female passengers to pickpockets to broken down vehicles. Even if none of those problems occurs it is virtually a given that a commuter will be crushed into a 24-passenger bus, stuffed like sardines with more than 50 sometimes.

Worse still, the administration has repeatedly failed to provide the public with an appropriate means of transportation despite strong, prolonged public criticism.

Actually, the fact that roads in the city are unable to accommodate the number of vehicles is not the only reason for the gridlock.

Among the other reasons that traffic is so bad here also includes, the presence of street vendors who occupy sidewalks and roads, undisciplined drivers, a terrible lack of traffic signs and constant road repairs. Not to mention that, when there is an accident Jakartans are notorious for stopping to look, even if it does not affect their lane.

Street vendors play an important role in causing traffic jams here. They occupy sidewalks and, even, roads to do business. Whatever the reason is, their actions reduce space for vehicles, hindering the flow of cars.

Meanwhile, most drivers here are found to be undisciplined. They commonly disobey traffic signs and break traffic regulations. In addition the motorists, pedestrians also frequently defy traffic regulations. Very often, they stop a bus in a prohibited area.

Actually, the administration had tried to resolve the problems. There are at least three agencies under the city administration whose tasks are related to traffic issues.

The agencies include the city transportation agency, the city public works agency and the city planning agency.

Each agency has different roles in managing traffic here. For example, the city transportation agency is said to be responsible for managing the routes for public transportation while the public works agency must take care of road maintenance.

All agencies try to combat traffic jams in their own way. The transportation agency usually tries to change public transportation routes to avoid high-traffic areas. This year alone, the agency changed public transportation routes twice.

The first change was carried out in May and the second was in November. However, bus drivers occasionally opposed the changes. In November, drivers staged a strike after the agency set up a new route for some public buses in the Blok M area of South Jakarta.

To make matters worse, the pubic works agency always seems to have construction crews clogging up the roads. The renovation projects are usually conducted several times a year, even if a road is still in a relatively good condition.

The public works agency renovated several roads around the city. Traffic jams, consequently, occur during the construction. This year, the agency has conducted at least 44 projects.

Transportation analysts have criticized the administration for uncoordinated approaches to dealing with the congestion. Experts agree that traffic problems would never be resolved by the authorities using the methods adopted so far.

"The administration has never had an integrated plan to deal with the problem. Their attempts to resolve gridlock are very short-sighted," said Heru.

By not taking an integrated approach, Heru asserted, the administration simply wasted taxpayer money since there was absolutely nothing positive to show for their "efforts" thus far.

Suyono Dikun, the chairman of the Indonesian Transportation Society, concurred, saying that the administration must get serious in coping with the problem.

Some observers believed that problems could be resolved if the administration built a mass transit system, while many others oppose the suggestion, saying that the city must radically reform the current transportation system.

Apart from the debate, he said, the agencies have seemingly not been able to understand their regular agenda to cope with traffic jams, which is costing taxpayers billions of rupiah.

To combat the gridlock problems, agencies responsible for managing traffic have no other choice but to develop an integrated plan. The related agencies must work together on the matter, Suyono added

Whatever the proposal is, it must cover the main problem and how to resolve it as well as predicting the possible problems that could lead to heavier congestion in the future.

After all this time and so many traffic jams, they have only attempted to solve traffic jams in certain areas, while utterly failing to combat the root of the problem. As doctors point out, it is actually impossible to cure a disease only by treating the symptoms, he said.

However, the larger issue in solving the problem may be Jakarta's age-old nemesis -- corruption. No matter how perfect a plan is, it remains utterly useless if the administration officers and politicians continue to take certain benefits from the projects for their own interests, at the expense of the project itself, and the taxpayer. Honesty and integrity indeed, are musts in dealing with the complicated issue, several analysts noted.