Transportation needs quick reform: Experts

Transportation needs quick reform: Experts

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In addition to its energy conservation efforts, the government
should take immediate steps to improve public transportation,
experts say.

"The current power fiasco is the momentum the government must
use to introduce to a comprehensive energy conservation policy,"
Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) president Bambang
Susantono said on Saturday.

MTI suggested improvements to public transportation should be
combined the introduction of electronic road pricing on main
thoroughfares such as Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Rasuna
Said.

According to Bambang, the combination of these policies would
contribute to energy conservation because it would discourage
people from using private vehicles.

"The combination of the two would cut fuel consumption for
transportation by about 18 percent," Bambang told The Jakarta
Post.

Jakarta accounts for 10.8 percent of the 59.6 million
kiloliters of fuel used nationwide each year.

According to data from the City Transportation Agency, there
are 6.3 million private vehicles -- cars and motorcycles -- and
some 330,000 public transportation vehicles in Jakarta.

Public transportation is used by some 55 percent of all people
who work in Jakarta.

The chairman of the City Transportation Council, Soetanto
Soehodo, shared Bambang's view, saying the city administration
must focus on developing public transportation.

"The government indulges private car users, developing
infrastructure for them. It is time to give serious attention to
public transportation," he told the Post.

According to Soetanto, the massive traffic jams caused by this
policy not only increased fuel consumption, but also caused other
serious problems, including cutting the productivity of Jakarta
workers.

"The majority of Jakarta workers spend three hours to four
hours a day in traffic. This can only be fixed by improving
public transportation," he said, adding that the busway was a
significant step forward in public transportation development.

He said the city administration should continue with plans to
develop 15 busway corridors across the city, as well as feeder
lines.

Soetanto said developing busway corridors was, for the time
being, the most feasible way to improve public transportation
because the city did not have the money to develop other forms of
mass public transportation like a subway.

"The amount of money it would cost to build a subway (from
Monas in Central Jakarta to Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta) would
be equal to the amount of money needed to build 14 busway
corridors."

It has been estimated that it would cost US$767.66 million to
build a subway from Monas to Lebak Bulus.