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.