Singapore haven for pedestrians
In contrast with the gridlocks common to Jakarta, Singapore is less congested thanks to various measures to reduce the number of cars on the road. In this second article, The Jakarta Post's Damar Harsanto observes how Singapore manages its transportation system during a three-day visit to the city last week on the invitation of the Far East Organization Singapore Pte. Ltd.
What is the difference between the word "underpass" in Singapore and Jakarta?
Sylviana, 25, a property agent who visited Singapore recently was quick to quip: "In Singapore, an underpass is built for pedestrians, while in Jakarta, it's only for cars."
Beyond the joke, however, Sylviana pointed out the clear difference between the policy taken by the Singapore government and the Jakarta administration to handle urban transportation problems.
Spacious sidewalks, lush city parks, clean and free public toilets, air-conditioned underpasses equipped with elevators are all provided for pedestrians in Singapore.
With traffic lights which feature digital countdown boards to show how much time is left for pedestrians to cross the street or the city maps placed nearby the Mass Rapid Transit stations or bus shelters, pedestrians are the virtual kings of the road.
During the visit, the Post experienced traversing the bustling Orchard Road on foot for three hours without fear of being accidentally hit by motorcyclists or being forced to move off the sidewalk onto the road because the sidewalk is occupied by streets vendors.
The basic idea of an urban transportation system is the provision of infrastructure that enables people to move from one point to another comfortably, easily and, of course, affordably.
To make that possible, the Singapore government built a mass rapid transit system in 1987, the second such system in the Southeast Asian region after Manila, the Philippines.
The MRT network which forms the backbone of the railway system, serving more than a quarter of Singapore's population of four million with a network spanning the entire city-state has grown rapidly ever since.
A white paper, titled: A World-Class Land Transportation System, published by the Land Transport Authority shortly after its formation in 1995, detailed how the authority intended to develop a comprehensive rail network and reduce dependency on road-based systems such as buses.
Although the daily ridership on the bus network is currently still well above the MRT network, or 2.8 million as compared to 1.3 million per day, the gap is narrowing as the rail network expands.
In Singapore, there are two bus operators - SBS Transit and the SMRT Buses. SBS Transit, formerly known as Singapore Bus Services, operates services on about 190 routes with a fleet of about 2,500 buses. The buses serve 16 interchanges, 19 bus terminals and more than 3,000 bus stops. SMRT Buses, formerly known as Trans-Island Bus Services, has more than 800 buses on 65 routes mainly in the northern part of Singapore.
The construction of the public transportation network is also supported by policies to encourage people to switch from private cars to public transportation, like the implementation of electronic road pricing (ERP), vehicle quota system (VQS), certificate of entitlement (COE) and high parking fees -- S$1.50 for the first hour and S$1.10 per subsequent half hour or part thereof.
"Only the super rich can afford to use a car," said Wawan, an Indonesian who has been working for two years in Singapore.
Before hitting the road, car owners have to pay much more for a car (as high as three times the cost of a car in Indonesia) owing to the imposition of annual road taxes, which are based on engine capacity, vehicle type and fuel type and tendering process for vehicle ownership where the highest bidder willing to pay the highest premium quota will get the COEs.
Jakartans have long been spoiled by policies that encourage people to buy a car rather than taking public transportation thanks to low vehicular taxes, no car ownership quota, low parking fees and the mildest restrictions on car usage, the three-in-one traffic policy.
It is almost certain that Jakarta traffic will get worse day by day as new cars enter the limited roads, while no significant measures to solve the existing problems are in sight.