People's reluctancy to use crossings looms in busway system

Damar Harsanto The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Busway project will use both pedestrian overpasses and zebra crossings to provide access to bus stops for passengers, but many doubt their effectiveness and fear it is doomed to failure as many people are reluctant to use such facilities on other roads.

Their reluctance is apparently based on issues of comfort and security, as well as the absence of sanctions for not using them.

"We will use both pedestrian footbridges as well as zebra crossings to enable bus passengers to access bus stops," said head of the city transportation agency's development program, D. A. Rini, who is also a member of the busway team of experts.

The administration will modify some of the existing pedestrian bridges to descend onto the median strips along which the bus stops will be constructed, Rini said.

However, some zebra crossings connecting bus stops in the right lane to the pavement in the left lane, would also be made to enable the disabled to access the bus stops, Rini added.

The bus stops are to made on an elevateded platform, 105 centimeters higher than ground level.

However, people's reluctance to use existing pedestrian footbridges and zebra crossings seems to be a major hurdle for the busway project.

"I am reluctant (to use the footbridges). It's too far," said one of several pedestrians who had just crossed Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta on Tuesday afternoon.

He claimed he was not concerned about his safety. "Unless the traffic is heavy, I will just cross the road."

There are only two footbridges available along the one- kilometer long Jl. M.H. Thamrin, while along Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, there are three zebra crossings with an average of 300 meters between each crossing.

Many people, however, were seen crossing the road and ignoring the traffic instead of using either the zebra crossings or footbridges. A police officer standing at the scene just looked on without paying attention to the jaywalkers.

Similarly, Sutoyo, 30, a resident of Kota, West Jakarta revealed that he chose not to use footbridges as he was afraid for his safety.

"Thugs try to extort money from people on many pedestrian bridges who can do so unseen as those bridges are completely covered by big advertising boards," Sutoyo said.

The new bus system which will cost Rp 90.5 billion (US$10 million) will use 60 air-conditioned buses, each with a capacity of 54 seats. Those buses will ply the 12.9 kilometer route from Blok M, in South Jakarta to Kota, West Jakarta, through Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman, with a headway of two minutes to six minutes.

The project which was initially expected to be launched by the end of last year, had been postponed mainly owing to poor planning.

The Jakarta Transportation Agency did not name a date for the launch of the system, but Governor Sutiyoso hinted that his administration would execute the project by the middle of this year. Two buses will be on trial next month, but they will not carry passengers.

The busway project is controversial as there has been some significant changes in the project's original planning, including the ballooning budget allocated for the project to Rp 90.5 billion, a sharp jump from only Rp 54 billion previously.

Many experts were skeptical that the project which is designed to ease Jakarta's notorious traffic congestion, would be successful amid poor planning.

The administration, for instance, fail to provide spacious and secure parking lots on both ends of the busway routes in Blok M and Kota so that motorists will be encourage to continue their journey with the busway.

The administration's plan to use the existing parking lots in Blok M will burden already-packed parking lots belonging to the office and shop buildings in the vicinity.

To date, after a long and repeated delays, the administration only manages to construct two bus stops on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta, from the planned 30 bus stops in every lane; painted dashed red marks to show the dedicated bus lanes from Blok M to Harmoni; and posted some notice boards.