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It is a well known fact that Jakarta’s traffic congestion is a chronic nightmare. This is a result of a three-pronged mismanagement attack: The woeful lack of new roads; a sharp increase in the number of vehicles and inadequate public transportation.

In the absence of viable public transportation, it is only logical that people look for the easiest and cheapest means to commute between their homes and work as well as to move around the city. Cars may not be within everyone’s reach but motorcycles are, especially with the various credit schemes on offer. The result is an increasing glut of four-wheeled and two-wheeled vehicles on the city’s severely limited road network.

Now, the city administration is apparently trying to reduce congestion by controlling the number of motorcycles on the roads.

The government is considering banning motorcyclists from purchasing government-subsidized fuel, while allowing owners of luxury vehicles built as recently as 2006 to continue to benefit from the program, which was designed with the poor in mind.

Evita Legowo, director general of oil and gas at the Energy Ministry, said on Wednesday that it had been decided that motorcyclists would be banned from buying the subsidized fuel following a meeting with the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry Association. She said only public-transport vehicles and private cars would be eligible to buy the fuel, and the types of cars and their age had not been determined.

Evita said she expects the final scheme for limiting sales of subsidized fuels to be released in June. The government may proceed in rolling out the program throughout Java, the country’s most populous island, in August.

While we welcome the city administration’s efforts, it is important to point out that this step alone will not be effective. Concerted efforts must be made to improve public transportation infrastructure. The busway is a good start, but it is not enough to meet demand. The number of vehicles in the fleet is still limited, and so is the network. To become truly effective, and draw drivers off the streets, the authorities must make a top priority of developing the busway in conjunction with other primary modes of public transportation in the city, such as the train network.

The long delayed mass rapid transit system also must be put on track. The public will not accept any more excuses. Other major cities in the region have pushed ahead and now have such systems. We only have to think back to the massive traffic messes in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur a decade ago.

For Jakarta to join the ranks of these cities, both the central government and the city administration must display political will, proper planning and execution. For how much longer must we continue to suffer from mismanagement by the authorities?