Stickers burdensome

Stickers burdensome

From Bisnis Indonesia

In response to the plan to enforce a sticker system on restricted roads in Jakarta, presently known as the three-in-one zone, allow me to contribute the following ideas, which, hopefully, may draw the attention of the Jakarta governor and the City Council:

1. What is the basis on which the Jakarta administration has decided to collect a levy on residents passing public areas/roads, the development and construction of which are in fact financed by the people?

2. To us, there is no urgency needed in enforcing the sticker system if it is intended only to ease traffic in certain areas. It must be realized that the enforcement of this system will only cause traffic congestion in other areas, especially if the roads are also restricted in the afternoon.

3. It must always be kept in mind that our people are now shouldering a heavy burden caused by the economic crisis, which has made the prices of daily commodities (food and clothing) to soar while salaries remain as they are. (People consider themselves lucky if their salaries are not cut or if they are not laid off.)

4. Now that the rates of electricity, telephone and drinking water have also risen, it is unreasonable to expect people to spend an additional Rp 10,000 a day just to pass the roads on which the sticker system is being enforced.

5. Do not assume that car owners are well-off people, because to the residents of Jakarta a car is one of life's necessities. If the government can provide comfortable and safe public transportation, such as what people in our neighboring countries can enjoy, people would be more than willing to make use of public transportation. Unless out of necessity, why should one own a car considering that the cost of maintenance is already very high?

6. As the government collects vehicle registration from owners every year, it need not subject a vehicle owner to another levy.

7. Won't the management of the proceeds from the sticker sales give rise to new problems (such as corruption, collusion and so forth), considering that supervising the sales of such stickers is no easy and simple matter?

The complexity of the problems related to the SEA Games stickers (still unsolved) is still fresh in our minds. Do not cause people more resentment by introducing a new regulation that will only burden them and end up in nothing but corruption.

8. The authorities must also anticipate the likelihood of new congestion points resulting from lines of cars waiting to buy stickers every time they are on the point of entering these restricted areas. We must take pity on our police officers because checking stickers stuck on automobiles one by one will only strain their eyes.

9. So, I think the Jakarta administration had better stick to the existing regulation on the restricted zone. As for the complaint that the present regulation, which stipulates that only cars carrying a minimum of three passengers can enter the restricted zone, is ineffective because of the presence of some people who accept money from car drivers to help them meet the required number of passengers, just let the regulation stay because car drivers willingly pay these people.

Don't compel car owners to pay a certain sum of money when in the end the money cannot be accounted for because it has gone to only God knows where.

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