License plate-based restriction may be imposed on all roads
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Many car owners may have to leave their vehicle in the garage on certain weekdays if the city administration goes ahead with its plan to limit the number of private vehicles on the road in order to reduce traffic congestion.
"A license plate-based restriction on all roads throughout the city is one possibility that could be imposed when the busway project is launched later this year," coordinating chairman of the busway project Irzal Djamal said on Thursday.
He was speaking to the media after giving an explanation about the busway concept to Governor Sutiyoso and a number of transportation experts here on Thursday.
Irzal, however, stressed that the license plate restriction plan had not been finalized yet as the issue would still be discussed by relevant officials and experts tasked to study the impact of the busway project, which may be called Trans Jakarta.
If the policy were imposed, cars having certain numbers would have to be left at home on specified days.
Irzal added, however, that there was also a possibility that the policy would be imposed only in certain parts of the city, such as the busway corridor.
As an example, he said that cars with final license plate numbers 1 and 2 would not be allowed on designated roads on Mondays, those with numbers 3 and 4 on Tuesdays, 5 and 6 on Wednesdays, and so on. But, he added, on Saturdays and Sundays, all vehicles would be allowed to use the designated roads.
The main busway corridor from Blok M, South Jakarta, to Kota, Central Jakarta, covers some 12.5 kilometers of road, comprising Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Merdeka Barat, Jl. Majapahit, Jl. Gajah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk.
Irzal, who is also the assistant to the city secretary for development affairs, said a similar policy had been imposed successfully on the roads in Bogota, Colombia, to resolve transportation problems.
Irzal, Sutiyoso and a number of officials had just returned from Colombia and several other cities in Latin America.
Another traffic policy that might be imposed along with the busway project is an expansion of the three-in-one system.
Under the current system, only private vehicles with at least three passengers may enter restricted zones, including Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Gatot Subroto, from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
The three-in-one system might be extended along the busway corridor from Blok M to Kota and the time might also be expanded to the peak hours in the evening, Irzal added.
According to Irzal, the busway project was only one element of an entire integrated concept for city transportation that was being formulated by the expert team and city officials.
"The integrated transportation system concept will be presented by the team to Governor Sutiyoso on May 30," Irzal added.
The busway project will be supported by feeders connecting a number of areas in the city, including satellite cities like Depok, Tangerang and Bogor.
The feeder vehicles would not have special tracks, but would have the same standard of service as the buses used in the main corridors.
The ticketing system for both kinds of buses would use prepaid cards.
The planned feeders are: Bekasi to Senayan, Jati Bening to Senayan, Soekarno-Hatta Airport to Kota, Kelapa Gading to Kota, Cibubur to Blok M, Depok to Blok M, Pondok Labu to Blok M, Ciputat to Blok M, Bintaro to Blok M, Cileduk to Blok M, Bumi Serpong Damai to the National Monument (Monas), Alam Sutra to Monas, Kota Modern to Monas and Lipo Karawaci to Monas.