'New busway system should be transparent'

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In an effort to alleviate ever-worsening traffic congestion, the city administration plans to implement a new transportation system from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta.

Analysts, however, have cautioned Jakarta administration officials against taking advantage of the new system for personal gain.

Alan Malino, a transportation engineering expert from the University of Indonesia, said that it is essential that the city be transparent in its development of the system which administration officials have said will be a pilot project.

"Don't render this project fruitless -- transparency is a must in conducting the system," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Under the new plan, which will require a total investment of Rp 54 billion, buses would follow separate lanes -- on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Jl. MH. Thamrin, Jl. Medan Merdeka, Jl. Gadjah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk -- in which they could drive faster than other vehicles.

Some 40 shelters, meanwhile, will be built for commuters under the crossing bridges in the green belt strip straddling the route.

Under the system, to be called "Busway," special buses will be licensed to travel along the faster lanes. The fast lanes will be clearly marked, and only new buses will be allowed to use them.

According to the head of the city transportation office, Rustam Effendy, the city-owned bus company PPD and privately owned bus operator Steady Safe will serve the route.

The drivers will be paid anywhere between Rp 1 million and Rp 2 million a month. This, city officials said, will be a measure to ensure they do not drive recklessly.

If the project proves successful, the administration will offer certain routes to a number of different bus operators through open tenders.

But Alan recounted a similar such project in 1992 that came to a screeching halt after just three months.

Alan, who served as a consultant for that particular project, recalled that city officials offered no explanation as to why they terminated the project, which had cost billions of rupiah.

To avoid a similar outcome, he urged the administration to expose the system to the general public.

"The public, mass media and the city council must control the implementation of the project as well," he noted.

In fact, Alan and Suyono Dikun, the leader of the Indonesia Transportation Society, actually voiced support for the new project, which is being drafted by Gadjah Mada University.

According to both experts, Jakarta sorely needs a mass transportation system, as the current one has failed to serve the basic needs of the traveling public.

"We cannot afford to establish a mass rapid transport system; this is an alternative," Alan told the Post, adding that he supports any attempts to improve public transportation here.

Suyono said that, while there were no guarantees of success, "we will have to take a risk if we want to improve public transportation here."