Jakarta still indecisive over badly-needed MRT
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
JAKARTA (JP): The prolonged indecision of the government in establishing an urban Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), further deteriorates the decaying transport situation in Jakarta which for over 10 years has yearned for a comprehensive remedy.
"Somewhere between 1978 and 1980 we should have had an MRT, now in the 1990s we're already 10 years too late," said the city's former vice-governor Bun Yamin Ramto recently.
Speaking to The Jakarta Post about the inadequacies of transportation in the city, Bun Yamin said that all major cities with a population between three to five million have to begin contemplating the construction of an MRT.
However, both the city administration and central government have yet to take concrete action, leaving the citizens of Jakarta to suffer in the perennial problem that has plagued the city for years.
According to the Jakarta Statistical Office, by 1970 the city already had a population of 4.4 million and five years later it had increased by another million.
In 1980 over 6.5 million people were living here, and as Jakarta celebrates it's 467th anniversary next Wednesday about 10.6 million will call the city home.
As a result, the city's ability to transport the daily crush of commuters has been stretched to its outer limits, compelling people to resort to such desperate measures as dangling on overloaded buses' doors just to get to and from work.
"The Sudirman traffic lane sees at least 20,000 per hour during the peak of the commute," Bun Yamin said.
There are currently over 3,500 large and 4,844 medium buses operating at 451 routes through out the city. Add to that nearly 10,000 mini-vans (mikrolet and KWK) along with 17,900 taxis and 15,110 bajaj tri-carts.
Unfortunately, this huge armada is not enough to serve Jakarta's needs. Prominent residents and transportation experts are in accord that Jakarta desperately needs an MRT.
The government seemed to have anticipated the problem and, as revealed by Bun Yamin, has made extensive studies of the transportation systems in Canada, Britain and Japan.
Master plan
The various pleas have not fallen on deaf ears with municipal officials who claim that a master-plan for the MRT already exists. However, they still shy away from definitive action by using the time-honored excuse of lack of funds.
Recently the government said that private bidding for an MRT would begin next year and that the bidding documents would be available in September.
Nevertheless too many details of this latest agenda remain vague and it is probably too early to make any assumptions.
Former police traffic director, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Untung Margono, has affirmed that the traffic problem exists, but has cited the high cost of building either an above-ground or under- ground MRT as the cause of the delay.
Untung said that the government was slowly heading towards the development of a subway as a means of alleviating the city's transportations problems.
Herdjan Kenasin, an expert from the Trisakti Transportation Academy, recently told the Post that the construction of an underground rail-system was a necessary step creating a complete solution.
"Until we have an underground MRT, transportation problems in Jakarta will never be completely solved," he said.
Bun Yamin contended that the idea of a subway had already been discarded.
He said that, besides the astronomical costs, the ground in Jakarta is not suitable for the project since it was formerly swamp land and, in many parts, consist of solid rock.
It is estimated that the project would require an average dig of up to 40 square meters per site in order to find suitable conditions
"It has been discussed with the Directorate General of Highways (Bina Marga) and the Ministry of Transportation, and we've decided to scrap the idea," he said.
According to Bun Yamin there were two cheaper and more viable options, a light-rail or mono-rail system, both of which are above-ground.
Basic requirements
He said that the basic requirements was a large capacity and affordability for the general public, who in the end would be the primary users.
"In fact I planned it to have a capacity of 40,000 people per hour for long-term considerations," Bun Yamin said.
He further lamented the government's recent decision to deploy 1,000 wide body buses to the shortage in transportation.
"I hear now the concept of MRT is being replaced by buses... its impossible for them to satisfy the demand since at best they can only carry between 8,000 to 10,000 people per hour," he said.
Bun Yamin did not believe that the municipality's failure in establishing an MRT was not hindered by costs.
"In 1985 I had already proposed the construction of an above- ground MRT which would have been completed in seven years," he said.
The former vice-governor in charge of development said that he had been working with a Japanese consulting firm and that costs would reach around US$640 million.
He added that he proposed the government subsidize about 37.5 percent of total costs so that the final ticket price could be less than Rp 2,000.
According to Bun Yamin, despite gaining President Soeharto's approval to pursue the matter further, certain central government officials gave a less than supportive response.
He went on to relate how an official went on to introduce alternative technology which was in opposition to the whole MRT principle.
"Just think, if I had gotten the approval we could already have an MRT by now," Bun Yamin said.(mds)