Traffic jams spreading unabated

Traffic jams spreading unabated

JAKARTA (JP): The number of traffic jams in Jakarta has
reached an alarming level and could eventually pose a tremendous
threat to national development, City Council chairman M.H.
Ritonga said yesterday.

"If the ever-increasing number of vehicles in the city is not
controlled, traffic congestion will become Jakarta's most serious
problem," Ritonga was quoted by Antara as saying.

If no effective steps are taken by the authorities within the
next 10 to 25 years, he predicted, practically every street in
Jakarta would be completely impassable.

At present there are at least two million vehicles in Jakarta,
or a ratio of one vehicle to every four people living in the
city.

Ritonga came up with eight proposals to cope with the nagging
problems of traffic in the capital city while he was still
Jakarta's police chief, one of which was the "three-in-one"
policy.

The capital city's famed "three-in-one" policy requires that
all private cars traveling on major roads during morning rush
hours must carry at least three people, which includes the
driver.

Ritonga said the other alternative proposals included parking
systems and a new management system in the public transportation
sector. (bas)