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.