Three-in-one scheme still being evaluated
Three-in-one scheme still being evaluated
JAKARTA (JP): The three-in-one traffic zone will not be phased
out until the People's Consultative Assembly general meeting next
March, the head of the City Land Transportation Agency, J.P.
Sepang, said yesterday.
And the system will undergo a thorough assessment before a
decision is made about its future, Sepang said after meeting with
the municipality's high-ranking officials and Governor Sutiyoso.
"We need time to evaluate the policy," he said.
The three-in-one zone, which was introduced in 1992 with the
passing of Law No. 14/1992, requires each private car to carry at
least three people when traveling along Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jl.
Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin between 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. from
Monday to Saturday.
The policy was aimed at discouraging people from driving their
cars to work and encouraging them to use public transport or car-
pooling with neighbors or fellow workers.
After five years of implementation, Governor Sutiyoso
considered it an ineffective method of easing the city's traffic
congestion.
Besides falling short of expectations the system created a new
problem, jockeys -- people who offer themselves as passengers to
motorists trying to beat the system.
Sepang said that it was decided in yesterday's meeting that
the municipality will concentrate on three questions: whether
other alternatives are more effective than the three-in-one zone;
whether the jockeys can be eliminated if the system is
maintained; and whether the drivers of cars with less than three
passengers are being apprehended.
Sepang said that to replace the system the municipality needed
input from many parties, including experts.
Governor Sutiyoso had asked Deputy Governor of Administrative
Affairs Abdul Kahfi to establish a team to evaluate the three-in-
one system, Sepang said.
An employee of a bank located in the restricted zone told The
Jakarta Post yesterday that he supported the postponement, saying
that the system was quite good.
"I think the three-in-one policy is good. If it's replaced by,
for example, a sticker system, people are obliged to pay a sum of
money.
"Since we've already been subjected to many fees and levies
collected by the municipality, please don't burden us with more,"
he said. "It's better to give the money to the jockeys than to
the municipality." (05)