Sutiyoso wants dawn-to-dusk three-in-one

Sutiyoso wants dawn-to-dusk three-in-one

Bambang Nurbianto and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso has chosen to extend the three-in-one
traffic policy throughout the day, from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., to
support the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) or busway.

"I prefer the three-in-one policy to be implemented throughout
the day because the busway also operates from morning to
evening," he said on Thursday.

His statement clarified an outstanding query on the time frame
for the traffic policy. Previously, the new three-in-one was
proposed from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

"If we have an interval in between, it would not be effective
enough for the busway," Sutiyoso said.

The current three-in-one policy requires private cars to have
at least three passengers while passing along Jl. Sudirman and
Jl. Thamrin from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., Mondays to Fridays.

The city administration announced a month-long tryout of the
three-in-one policy starting on Monday along the 12.9-kilometer
busway corridor from Blok M, South Jakarta, to Kota, West
Jakarta. During the tryout, motorists will not be penalized by
traffic police officers as it is meant to give them time to get
used to the new policy.

Sutiyoso will sign a gubernatorial decree on the three-in-one
traffic policy on Saturday. He will also sign two other decrees
on the alternate license plate program and a decree on the
establishment of a busway management body.

On Friday, the governor will receive an explanation from
chairman of the busway team Irzal Djamal, who is also assistant
to the city secretary for development affairs.

The administration's decision to try out the three-in-one
traffic policy was slammed by the Consumer Protection and a
legislator who expressed pessimism that it would resolve traffic
woes.

Consumer Protection chairman Irwan Sukatmawijaya pointed out
that the three-in-one traffic policy would only shift congestion
from the busway corridor to other areas.

He also said that the new policy would produce more joki
(people offering themselves, for a small fee, as passengers for a
few hundred meters when passing the checkpoint) and increase
crime because many people would crowd busway shelters along main
thoroughfare median strips.

Syamsidar Siregar, a legislator from the National Mandate
Party (PAN), made similar comments, saying the three-in-one
traffic policy would create more problems for commuters as the
feeder services had yet to be properly prepared.

"How can the administration expect private car users to shift
to the busway if it doesn't include high-quality feeder services
connecting residential areas to the busway terminals or
shelters?" she asked.

Irwan suggested the administration limit the number of cars
operating in the city and called on the automotive industry to be
socially responsible by limiting vehicle production.

"The government may, for example, ban cars over 20 years old
from the city. The automotive industry must take responsibility
by buying up the old cars before producing new ones.

"Traffic jams will never be resolved as long as the core
problem has not been tackled, which is the proliferation of cars
on the streets," he said.

Irwan added that his organization would sue the administration
should the busway fail to improve traffic conditions for road
users.