Transport for tomorrow

Transport for tomorrow

Much has been written on the state of public transportation in Jakarta, though myriad questions remain as to what the administration is really doing to resolve the chronic chaos.

The problem is complex. The city's roads, inadequate in total length and number, are usually cited as the main culprits.

However, experts argue that additional roads will not solve the problem as long as the number of vehicles, private cars especially, continues to increase at its current pace.

Thought has been given to limit the number of privately owned cars in Jakarta, at least in certain busy city zones during peak hours. But given the sorry state of the city's public transportation system, this will be easier said than done.

Most experts agree that the solution lies in a mass rapid transportation system. To be effective, the system must be punctual and capable of transporting a thousands of people to all the major points of the city. It must also be relatively comfortable, accessible and affordable.

When it was announced that Jakarta was finally to have such a system -- or at least the first stage of it -- the news was greeted with gratitude.

A number of options have been proposed. First, there was the "aeromovel", an air-propelled vehicle on tracks. After a rather unhappy trial run at the Taman Mini part in East Jakarta, however, the idea appears to have been dropped.

Then a German-built overhead light-rail transit vehicle called an "O Bahn" was proposed. Its future in Jakarta is still unclear but it looks as though the idea has followed the path of the aeromovel.

More recently, two arguably more feasible projects were proposed. The first is a subway linking Blok M with downtown Kota. The second calls for a three-level system consisting of a road at ground level, an elevated light-rail transit track on the second level and a toll road at the top.

Both projects looked to have an equal chance of being adopted. For the subway project, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Jakarta's governor Surjadi Soedirdja and executives from a consortium of foreign companies in August last year.

As for the three-level proposal, the chief executive of the private company PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada, Bambang Suroso, said last year that construction of the project would begin in 1997.

However, more cold water has been poured on the two ideas than the streets of Jakarta after a brief rain.

Rusdi Yusuf, an official of the Jakarta city development planning board, said recently that the three-level proposal was "merely an idea" and not provided for in the city's master plan for 1985-2005. As for the subway project, no serious commitment of resources has been made to see that construction is begun by next year.

Both projects will require massive financing to realize, and it is up to government officials and experts to decide. But regardless of the choice, a mass transit system cannot be put off any longer if we are to save the city's ailing transportation system and spare the public from 21st century gridlock.