Traffic management key to road chaos
Traffic management key to road chaos
By Mitchell Mackey
The answer to Jakarta's traffic problems is better traffic management and not a reduction in car sales, according to Gaikindo Secretary-General F. Soeseno.
He said traffic problems were hurting the car's image and the industry was committed to working with the government to address the issue.
"Traffic management is essential, it must be the first priority." Soeseno said.
"Some people, even government people, have commented that it may be better to slow down car production because there are too many cars.But this is not the solution.
"If we check the total population there are still less than four million cars in a country with 200 million people.
"We have less than one car for every 50 people and if you compare Indonesia with other countries you will see that we need greater car production not less," he said.
Soeseno said that both the quality and quantity of traffic management had to be improved.
He said the government's police and communication departments must work with the private sector as the solution cannot come from just one side.
"It must be a combined effort, with the industry providing input on proposals to the government.
"The government is making every effort to keep Jakarta's roads in good shape, but this situation happened a long time ago and there are no easy steps for us to take," Soeseno said.
With better traffic management the pollution levels in cities like Jakarta will also decrease.
However, the government has yet to act on the introduction and distribution of unleaded petrol, which would be considered to be another aid to pollution reduction.
Soeseno said it could be another two or three years before the government had a clear policy on unleaded petrol.
Leaded petrol is acknowledged as a significant public health problem, as its exhaust gases increase the lead content in the atmosphere.
Over the past decade many countries have moved to phase out leaded petrol by legislating for their car industries to sell only cars that have engines tuned for unleaded petrol together with exhaust devices called catalytic converters that filter out most toxic materials.
However, Soeseno said Indonesia had not yet reached the point where the government would legislate for mandatory use of unleaded fuel.
"We have not reached the mandatory point yet," he said.
One of the major problems delaying the introduction of unleaded petrol was the absence of a national distribution system.
Four years ago Indonesia's petrol refiners cooperated with the government to introduce a leaded fuel called pre-mix which has significantly reduced lead content.
The Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries said that pre-mix has been a successful initiative and any government move to insist that car companies sell only unleaded petrol vehicles would be useless if the fuel was not widely distributed first.
However, petrol stations will not stock the fuel until there is sufficient demand and consumers will not demand it until it is available.