Leony Aurora The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Street vendors and parking attendants on the alternative roads along the busway corridor are apparently unaware that they will soon be prohibited from working there.
"No, we haven't received any notification from the city administration," said a parking attendant on Jl. Hayam Wuruk, West Jakarta, on Friday, as he helped a customer move his car from an on-street parking site.
Jakarta Police traffic division chief Sr. Comr. Sulistyo Ishak announced on Thursday the plan to clear the roads of anything seen to be causing traffic congestion, including illegally parked cars and street vendors. Traffic along the alternative roads is expected to be worse after Jan. 15, when the busway project kicks off, as many motorists will avoid using the busway route, connecting Blok M, South Jakarta and Kota, West Jakarta.
Friday was the first day of work for the joint task force that is being deployed to clear the roads. Some 1,000 personnel were set to distribute brochures along the roads informing people of the regulations.
However, a digital video disc (DVDs) vendor on Jl. Gajah Mada, Central Jakarta -- which runs parallel with Jl. Hayam Wuruk -- said, although he had been working since 8 a.m., he was yet to get a brochure.
About six meters from where he was standing, workers were breaking through the asphalt to plant separators for the busway lane.
Another vendor, who had moved to the capital from Tarutung, North Sumatra, said he was unsure what he would do if he was unable to work on the road, "I can't use the sidewalk either, can I?" he asked hopefully. The nearby Glodok market, he said, was already overcrowded.
Although The Jakarta Post talked to parking wardens and street vendors on Jl. Jayakarta, Jl. Gajah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk in Mangga Dua, as well as several others working on Jl. Cideng Barat in West Jakarta, no one had received a brochure.
Under the new regulations, pedestrians not using pedestrian bridges, drivers of public buses not stopping at bus stops, as well as the owners of illegally parked cars will be fined for traffic violations. Street vendors will be evicted.
Some vendors, however, still seemed relaxed despite the imminent threat of eviction. "We have been here for a long time," said a 24-hour food stall owner on Jl. Cideng Barat, "but don't ask me what I'll do," she added, "I'll just follow whatever the other vendors decide to do."