New toll road causes traffic jams in Bandung

New toll road causes traffic jams in Bandung

Antara, Bandung

With the new Cipularang toll road helping to speed up the trip to and from Bandung, tourists from neighboring cities like Jakarta are flocking to the city every weekend, forcing residents to suffer major traffic congestion.

A student from the University of Padjajaran, Hani Handayani, said that it took her an hour to reach busy streets like Setiabudi or Dipatiukur on weekends, when it usually took 20 minutes by public minivan.

"So now, when I want to go out on Saturdays or Sundays, I have to prepare to get there in two hours," Hani said.

With the flourishing number of weekend tourists coming from Jakarta to Bandung these days, she would prefer to stay at home than be stuck in a traffic jam.

Connecting Cikampek, Purwakarta and Padalarang, the new 41.3- km Cipularang toll road, which was opened on April 26, has experienced a sharp increase in the number of motorists using it.

According to PT Jasa Marga, which manages the toll road, before the road was opened an average of 125,000 motorists a day drove between Jakarta and Bandung, but after the opening, the volume increased by 10,000 vehicles a day on ordinary days and 25,000 vehicles a day on weekends.

The busiest districts on weekends in Bandung are the popular streets like Jl. Setiabudi, Jl. Ir. H. Djuanda, Jl. Dago, Jl. Cihampelas, Jl. Riau and Jl. Siliwangi, and also the streets that house most "factory outlet" clothing stores.

Rini, a resident living in Jl. Cihampelas, was annoyed by the heavy traffic because she still has to go to work on Saturdays and Sundays.

"And I'm not taking public minivans. Even going by motorcycle we could be trapped in a traffic jam that takes a long time for me to get to my workplace," she said.

She hoped that the Bandung municipal administration would deal with the traffic problems instead of only prioritizing the money earned from the visitors who spent their money in the city.