Simple traffic solution

Simple traffic solution

I refer to June 1, 1995, article about curbing vehicles in
Jakarta. In the 1970s, Sao Paulo experienced a construction boom
like Jakarta is experiencing now. If you are in Jakarta high rise
building, just look outside the window and see the amount of
cranes on the landscape. Sao Paulo's city administration went to
the standard imported solution: throw money at the problem.

However, no amount of new overpasses, bridges, tunnels,
avenues, subway systems or regulations prevented the clogging of
S. Paulo's traffic. Twenty-five years later they are still
struggling with chaotic traffic.

People will leave their cars at home only if efficient public
transport is available. An efficient public transport system it
is not the Flash Gordon-type solution such as suspended rail or
ultra modern subway. It can be a simple solution and it has been
done successfully in Brazil itself.

In Curitiba -- a city of 1.6 million inhabitants 400
kilometers south of S. Paulo -- the local government opted for a
low-cost decentralized solution. It designed a master plan, where
articulated buses run non-stop from terminals in the outskirts of
the city to downtown via special bus lanes. Feeder routes using
standard buses spread from terminals outside the city.

Along the bus lanes circulate normal buses making the stop and
go journey for passengers dropping in between. There are no
conductors on the buses. Passengers pay their fare before
boarding the buses to increase passenger throughput. Fares are
normally paid with tokens which can be purchased at pharmacies,
news stands, banks, etc. A specially designed shelter makes the
bus stops comfortable. Owing to the Brazilian trademark lack of
discipline, curbs between the bus and the car lanes prevent cars
from invading the lane. (A 650 HP 100-passenger articulated bus
traveling at high speed also helps).

Inter-district buses drive in between places where terminals
don't exist to avoid changing buses during a long journey. Now 28
percent of the passenger traffic is of people who previously
commuted by car. A tri-articulated bus for 270 passengers is now
being tested. The government only oversees the system, it is
operated by private companies.

Jakarta authorities don't need to implement the full blown
system to see how and if it will work. Give it a trial like New
York City did. Choose a special route, put a terminal tube with a
conductor in it, get an articulated bus and have a go at it. The
complete system -- articulated buses and shelter -- can be
manufactured here in Indonesia. The Angkutan Kota's drivers would
not lose their livelihood. They could be the feeders to the
terminals and be banned from downtown.

Throwing brains at a problem can beat throwing money at one.

OSVALDO COELHO

Bandung, West Java