New bus system might worsen traffic jams
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The City Transportation Agency warned on Friday that the busway project, scheduled to start later this year, would worsen traffic jams along the roads due to be used by the new buses.
Head of the agency Rustam Effendy acknowledged that the traffic jams would get worse but he hoped that the situation would not last for long.
Owners of private cars delayed by traffic jams were expected to take the new buses when they realized that the buses would run fast along special lanes, Rustam said.
"Although the main users of the buses would be low-income families, as the fares would be around Rp 2,500, the system also aims to persuade middle- to upper-income people to leave their cars at home and take the buses," he told The Jakarta Post.
The city administration plans to launch the new bus system, officially named the Bus Demonstration Project, costing Rp 54 billion (about US$5.8 million), with 60 air-conditioned buses. They will run from Blok M, South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta, passing along 12.9 kilometers of road, including Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Merdeka Barat, Jl. Gajah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk.
Rustam said that each of the buses, with a capacity of 85 passengers, was expected to be able to carry about 30,600 passengers per day, with a headway of 1.5 minutes to 5 minutes.
The buses will run along special lanes reserved for them only and are designed in such a way that they could only take passengers waiting at designated bus stops.
A transportation observer, however, warned that the busway project might not work in the absence of proper law enforcement against irresponsible motorists.
Alan Marino of the University of Indonesia Center For Transportation Studies said security officers had to be firm with any violators once the new system was running, such as drivers of private cars that used the bus lanes and passengers who did not buy a ticket. "Law enforcement is still a big problems in Indonesia. Will they be ready to crack down against the violators?"
Alan also questioned whether passenger safety could be guaranteed as they would have to cross the road at pelican crossings on the road to the bus stops located in the green center strips.
A pelican crossing is a pedestrian-activated traffic light- controlled crossing facility.
Speaking separately, Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto from the Presidium of Indonesian NGOs for Sustainable Transport, also said that it was unlikely that the new system would persuade middle- and upper-income people to travel by bus in the near future.
"The public will assess whether the system will provide a comfortable service for them. I don't think that will happen in the near future as the buses, I believe, will be packed at peak hours," he added.