Sutiyoso rejects executive bus idea
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso turned down on Tuesday a proposal made by the TransJakarta Busway management to add executive-class buses to the busway project, which would occupy space in the dedicated lane.
"Forget it! Our focus is to make perfect the existing busway project. We shall reject the plan (for an executive-class busway) if they (the management) insist," he said at City Hall.
Sutiyoso said that his administration had yet to receive official proposals for the plan. He was responding to the busway management's proposal to add executive-class buses and widen some parts of the road along the 12.9-kilometer corridor from Blok M, South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta, to allow buses to overtake each other. The plan would reduce the road width available for other road users.
Busway management infrastructure division head Taufik Adiwianto claimed, "Bogota also has executive-class buses".
The Jakarta administration copied Bogota's TransMilenio when preparing the busway project. While the TransMilenio can accommodate around 160 passengers per bus, the busway can only transport 80 people.
Sutiyoso also emphasized that the purpose of the road widening project was to alleviate increased traffic congestion because one of the three fast lanes had been taken for the busway project.
The Rp 15 billion (US$1.79 million) project will convert the two existing fast lanes into three by taking parts of the median strip along Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin, without felling any trees. The project will commence in March and is expected to be completed in May.
The width of each lane will be reduced from three meters to 2.75 meters, while the width of the median strip between the fast and slow lanes will be reduced on either side by 1.5 meters.
Sutiyoso added that his administration would go ahead with the plan to equip all busway pedestrian bridges with canopies and to buy 40 more buses for the busway. The administration has allocated Rp 120 billion for this.
"Canopy construction and procurement of the buses should be finished this year. I told my subordinates to speed up," he said.
So far, only two of 23 pedestrian bridges are equipped with canopies -- at the Jakarta Police Headquarters and the Bank Indonesia bus shelters.
An underpass for busway passengers will also be built in Kota.
The busway project, which was inaugurated on Jan. 15, has been under fire due to the administration's poor implementation. The city's original aim of encouraging private car owners to use the busway has yet to succeed as the major thoroughfares in the capital are still crammed with private vehicles.
During the free-ride trial period, many Jakartans enthusiastically tried the busway for fun. Long queues could be seen at both Blok M bus terminal and the Kota shelter.
The administration's decision to extend the three-in-one traffic policy was also condemned, as legal experts said it had no legal basis.