License plate-based restriction may be imposed on all roads

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.