Putting brakes on jalopies?

Putting brakes on jalopies?

Jakarta is again pondering restricting the number of older
cars in the city. It is also mulling the banning of motorcycles
from main thoroughfares. Traffic congestion and the environment
top the list of concerns in both cases.

While the city's efforts to free Jakarta from its daily
traffic jams should be commended, the two measures under
consideration smack of a piecemeal solution. One is reminded of
the three-in-one policy, whose success in reducing traffic
congestion is debatable, to say the least.

The idea of restricting older cars in Jakarta is not new. It
was first mooted in the 1970s and has been on and off the agenda
of successive governors since then. It was almost made law two
years ago when it managed to slip into a transportation bylaw for
the first time. The bylaw was dropped at the eleventh hour on the
grounds that the city would lose vehicle tax revenues amounting
to Rp 2.2 trillion (US$225 million), about 20 percent of
Jakarta's annual budget back then.

Now the topic is back on the agenda again and the argument
this time around is that Jakarta has too many vehicles. The city
now has two million cars and 4.5 million motorcycles plying its
7,500-kilometer-long road network. With the number of cars
growing by seven percent a year and motorbikes by 15 percent a
year, or 35,000 new units a month, Jakarta's roads simply cannot
cope as their length only increases by one percent a year. This
armada of 6.5 million motorized vehicles is simply too much for
Jakarta's road network to support. So, the reason behind the
proposed policy seems credible, but the policy itself, if
implemented, will be highly controversial.

First, there is the problem of defining what an older car is.
Second, restricting the number of older cars in the city would be
a discriminatory policy that favors the rich.

What distinguishes one car with another in terms of pollution
is not its age, but rather its roadworthiness. This includes its
emissions level. Hence, vintage cars, which are usually
maintained in top condition by their owners, do not pollute the
environment. There are less discriminatory policies the city
could ponder on. In the United Kingdom and many other places, car
owners have to obtain roadworthiness certificates as soon as
their cars are three years old. The cost of obtaining such a
certificate becomes more expensive as the car gets older as
maintenance costs increase. Sooner or later, it will become
cheaper for the motorist to buy a new car than to maintain the
older car.

Jakarta's policies often give rise to frustration. The three-
in-one-policy has made it more difficult for motorists to travel
through the city. Yet, it has done little to ease traffic
congestion.

The proposed prohibition on motorcycles is equally
discriminatory. If we talk about numbers and space, it would be
more logical to restrict cars on Jakarta's narrower streets,
which are, in fact, more suited to motorcycles. Hence, it is
clear that the Jakarta administration has an topsy-turvy way of
looking at things.

If the controversial policy is implemented, what about those
people who rely on the speed of their motorcycles to get their
work done, like couriers, postmen, motorcycle taxi drivers, etc?
Or those who have switched to motorcycles instead of taking their
cars because of the congested roads? Should they start driving
their cars again, thus further clogging our already congested
roads?

Some have said that motorcyclists lack discipline. But this is
a different issue. Road behavior involves law enforcement, as
good policing would increase discipline among bikers. At the
present time, only a few undisciplined motorists get ticketed
when the police are around, while everyone else continues to get
off scot-free. The question is, how come the same drivers behave
differently when they are in countries with a more disciplined
system, like Singapore or Malaysia?

The number of motorcycles has shot up partly because Jakarta
lacks an efficient and comfortable public transportation system.
Those who need to avoid traffic congestion have no option other
than jump on a motorcycle. Even ministers do so occasionally.

The root of the problem in Jakarta is the lack of a mass rapid
transportation system. Such a system is a must for any city with
more than ten million people. It is a crying shame that proper
planning has not been carried out for this before now. But until
such time as those in power take action, Jakartans will, as
usual, have to pay the price for a consistent lack of proper
planning down the years in the nation's capital.

This means that Jakartans will continue to have to watch as Rp
41 billion per day goes up in smoke as a result of wasted time,
ineffective fuel use and health problems, according to a December
2004 study.