'Roads not worth fees'

'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