•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

As a large and teeming metropolis with a daytime population of close to 11 million, Jakarta is beset with problems, with traffic being one of the more serious ones that the city has failed to effectively deal with.

Within a decade, Jakarta’s traffic woes have become notorious, with heavy congestion a common occurrence and distances having to be measured in terms of how long it takes to travel.

And with a public transportation system that leaves much to be desired, the severity of the congestion has only worsened over the years.

As traffic builds up ahead of the annual mass exodus that precedes the end of Ramadan, which this year falls at the end of next week, authorities are stepping up efforts to deal with the chaotic situation on Jakarta’s roads.

It is estimated that four million Jakartans will leave the city in the next few days. This poses a daunting challenge not just for the Ministry of Transportation but also for the city administration.

With the capital’s infrastructure set to be strained by the mass exodus, the authorities are finally coming out with a slew of new plans and measures to help alleviate the transportation woes.

Yesterday, the traffic police announced plans to alleviate congestion in several parts of the city, including by closing off several on- and off-ramps to the inner-city toll road; reorganizing problem points at public facilities, such as malls, that contribute to congestion; putting restrictions for both cars and motorcycles along certain routes; and using an electronic road-pricing system for the city’s main arteries.

Also on the city’s agenda was clearing the streets of illegal public transportation and imposing stricter road discipline.

We hope that all these measures will have an impact, because traffic has now become unbearable.

However, the short-term plans should not let the city off the hook, with farsighted initiatives needed to solve the city’s traffic problems once and for all.

We cannot take ad-hoc approaches to managing traffic flow. There are several plans on the table, but so far there has been precious little progress. How long must Jakartans put up with such conditions?

If we cannot follow in the steps of other capitals across the region, which have been able to solve their traffic woes by investing heavily in public transportation, the least the government can do is maximize the use of the public transportation by integrating it into a wider network that is able to cover the entire city and its surrounding suburbs.

It has become increasingly urgent for the authorities to come up with a comprehensive master plan for its transportation network — from that already existing to infrastructure under construction and that being planned.

It is high time that both the police and the city administration take bold steps to solve this perennial problem. It is no longer acceptable that long-term solutions are still on the back burner.