'Roads not worth fees'

The government is considering raising the tolls on toll roads by 15 percent to reduce the number of cars on the roads and to raise more money for maintenance. The Jakarta Post asked residents for their comments on the issue.

Rully Andhika, 27, is a postgraduate engineering student. He lives in Ciledug, South Jakarta:

Personally, I prefer not to take the inner-city toll road because I know there will be traffic. I only take routes that are not that crowded, such as T.B. Simatupang.

A 15 percent increase in tolls would not make much of a change. It would be worth it for less crowded toll roads where we could avoid the motorcycles and public minivans. But it would not be worth it if these so-called highways were still crowded.

The toll road operator should raise tolls even higher if they want to ease traffic. That way, only people who can afford to spend that kind of money will take toll roads, cutting down on traffic. Then it would be worth it.

Arie G. Desyanto, 33, is a driver for a Japanese-owned factory. He drives his boss from an apartment in Mampang, South Jakarta, to the plant in Cikarang, West Java:

The toll road operator needs to improve their service before they raise tolls.

Take the Jagorawi and Merak toll roads for example. The employees at the tollgate are too slow, causing traffic. They should be better trained. The condition of the Jakarta-Merak toll is not very good, with bumps here and there.

For the inner-city toll road, we just have to accept the fact that cars going to and coming from the business districts in the center of Jakarta create the traffic.

Instead of building more toll roads and charging higher fees, it would be better to disperse the business districts.

-- The Jakarta Post