Tangerang Traffic chaotic

TANGERANG (JP): Traffic on a number of the city's major streets is becoming increasingly chaotic with congestion a daily dilemma.

Police officers assigned to regulate traffic flow can do little to alleviate the snarls that can trap cars in endless lines.

The worst congestion occurs at intersections in Karawaci, Cikokol and Shinta, as well as along Jl. Daan Mogot, from the State Electricity Company's branch office up to the Cisadane crossroads.

"Driving from Jl. Imam Bonjol in Karawaci to downtown Tangerang, a matter of only a few hundred meters, frequently takes more than an hour," Munadi, the driver of a public transit mini-van, said over the weekend.

He said the traffic jams peak between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. when people are heading for their place of work in privately owned cars and on public transit vehicles. This crowded conditions of the streets are worsened by the many school children going to their schools.

"We are frequently forced to drive our vehicles a bit indiscriminately so as to enable us to reach the destinations quicker. Without doing this, we cannot make enough income to pay our daily rental fees," said Sembiring, a bus driver serving the Tangerang-Cikokol route.

He said that the traffic condition is sometimes aggravated by electricity blackouts, which frequently happen in the area.

The Tangerang administration has so far earmarked Rp 1 billion (US$454,545) for the construction a new bridge linking Jl. Daan Mogot and Jl. Otista with the aim of easing the traffic jams.

The bridge currently under construction is expected to reduce the heavy traffic burden caused by vehicles from Jakarta, Serpong and Ciledug passing through Tangerang. (13/hhr)