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Mondays mean the start of headaches for the millions of Jakarta commuters who struggle just to get from their homes in one part of the city to jobs in another.

In the absence of a proper public transportation system, 8.5 million Jakarta residents and more than one million additional work-week commuters spend precious hours on roads choked with traffic.

In 2004, the Japan International Cooperation Agency released a study on Greater Jakarta’s traffic and public transportation problems. Hirohisa Kawaguchi, a transportation coordinating adviser for the agency, known as JICA, said that in 2002 about one million people were entering Jakarta every workday from neighboring West Java and Banten provinces for work or school, swelling the capital’s ranks to 9.5 million.

By 2007, the number of in-bound commuters had reached 1.3 million, according to Muhammad Akbar, head of road traffic engineering at the Jakarta administration’s Transportation Agency.

Unfortunately, for decades Jakarta has taken few steps toward dealing with the influx of commuters. There is no organized comprehensive transport system, whether to move people efficiently by road, commuter rail or light rail, for example a subway.

“There are cities that planned ahead in their transportation system, but not us,” said Bambang Susantono, head of the Indonesian Transportation Society.

Now that lack of vision is coming back to bite city officials. There are nearly 650 new cars and about 3,400 new motorcycles registered each day in Greater Jakarta and the growth in new roads and toll roads to accommodate them is lagging woefully behind.
The increasing number of private vehicles is joined by growing numbers of buses and taxis. Add in thousands of street vendors and pedestrians who have to cope without sidewalks or walkways and the result is the chaos we all live with every day.

“The city belongs to the people. It should be developed for the people, not for private vehicles,” said Milatia Kusuma, country director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy in Jakarta.

“We are late in applying transportation management. We are late in lots of things.”

In an attempt to confront these problems, successive Jakarta governors have applied a series of policies. Have recent moves, from the busway to 3-in-1 restrictions and car-free Sundays, helped?

First, the Busway

Among the most talked about, criticized and sometimes applauded changes is the TransJakarta busway. Launched in January 2004 by then-Governor Sutiyoso, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system — the idea for it was taken from Bogota, Colombia — was criticized for taking away limited road space and tearing out green areas along Jalan Sudirman.

Undaunted, Sutiyoso moved forward. “The busway was a priority because it was seen as a prime choice compared to our [existing] public transportation, which is in a really dreadful condition,” said Akbar from the city Transportation Agency. “The busway is more efficient than private cars and public buses. These days, you can see people dressed elegantly or even wearing miniskirts taking the busway, because it’s safe and convenient.”

The first corridor opened from Blok M to Kota and there are now eight corridors altogether, with plans for seven more connecting the entire city. However, problems are mounting with each new addition. Areas where roads are narrow or already congested have seen gridlock increase dramatically because space was taken away for busway lanes.

“It’s not just about a bus running on a route. You want to have punctuality, convenience and scheduled buses. Sutiyoso did not prepare for it,” Milatia said, adding that the first corridor was relatively painless because some traffic management was already in place along the route, so “[there’s] no competing with other buses and no mixing with regular traffic.”

Among the other problems are overcrowded buses, inconsistent schedules, no feeder buses at stops, inconvenient bus shelters, long waits between buses, breakdowns, accidents and getting stuck in regular traffic.

Governor Fauzi Bowo, who was Sutiyoso’s deputy when the busway was launched, has taken the brunt of the criticism.

“Fauzi is fixing improper plans left by Sutiyoso. That is why it seems like he’s not doing anything,” Milatia said. “We agreed with him to have sustainable transportation in Jakarta, but it’s not easy to achieve.”

Still, it’s hard to argue with the fact that more people are using the busway than ever before. After five years, the busway is operating 281 buses, including 13 longer, articulated buses. There are now 120 bus shelters along 97.35 kilometers of restricted roadway.

With tickets priced at as low as Rp 2,000 (21 cents), the busway carried around 219,000 passengers a day last year, compared to 38,000 in 2006. It also helps reduce CO2 emissions by 33,964 tons a year, according to operator PT TransJakarta.

However, the concept of attracting passengers away from private vehicles has a long way to go. Only 7.1 percent of car owners have moved to the busway, while 15.4 percent shifted from motorcycles, the company said.

One of the people who made the switch is David Tjahjana, a 53-year-old IT consultant, who reduced his traveling time by becoming a busway regular. He is also one of the founders of suaratransjakarta.org, a Web site that allows busway users to exchange information about the system.

“The busway is a boon for me because I have many clients located in Sudirman. I can just park my car at my office [there] and then meet them. It’s fast, and free of the 3-in-1” traffic restrictions, he said.

“I think the busway is a breakthrough, however, it needs to be integrated with other modes of transportation,” Tjahjana said.

Another breakthrough, experts say, would be introducing a new social culture in relation to transportation for millions of Jakartans.
This would include standing in line for tickets and getting on and off only at bus stops. The busway, which is more organized and disciplined, helps. “We are learning to be civilized,” Tjahjana said.

The Future: Electronic Road Pricing

Another of former Governor Sutiyoso’s schemes was the 3-in-1 policy in 2003, which mandates that vehicles using a number of strategic roads during peak morning and afternoon hours must have at least three passengers.

“If we hadn’t applied the 3-in-1 policy, we would have total gridlock by now,” said Amalia Aldian, head of the land and railways division at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, in defense of the controversial regulation.

But as any motorist knows, private cars without thee occupants can still use these routes by picking up one or two car jockeys at the side of the road, meaning there is zero incentive to take public transportation. Cars that use alternative routes, rather than pay Rp 10,000 for a jockey, are themselves a nuisance because they clog side streets in quiet neighborhoods.

“We admit that the 3-in-1 policy is not effective in reducing Jakarta’s traffic,” Akbar said. “That is why we should replace it with electronic road pricing.”

Sutiyoso considered electronic road pricing (ERP), which is used in Singapore and in central London, among other cities, back in 2007. The system automatically withdraws money from a pre-paid card connected to an electronic sensor on vehicles using certain roads at peak hours.

The JICA study recommended that Jakarta apply electronic pricing in 2005 to complement the 3-in-1 policy, saying fees could reach Rp 15 trillion by 2020. However, lack of planning and a disagreement about whether the Jakarta government or the Ministry of Finance would collect fees have helped halt implementation. There is still no concrete plan.

The city administration is working on a draft law for collecting funds, but some transportation officials and experts say the ERP shouldn’t be implemented until a mass rapid transit system is built.

“I believe the ERP is more effective. Private cars will start to calculate their expenses when this system is applied,” Akbar said.
In the meantime, the 3-in-1 policy will continue, with motorists putting money into the pockets of car jockeys rather than into state coffers.

Going for a Sunday Walk

Beginning in 2007, the Jakarta administration introduced a car-free day on the last Sunday of every month along Jalan Sudirman and Jalan Thamrin, and on the middle Sunday in a rotating area of the city. The program’s goal is to improve air quality and to encourage people to either walk or ride bicycles.

Some experts reckon the policy has actually had more of a social impact: It fulfills a longstanding need for open space — if just for two Sundays a month.

Many people use the time to stroll along the roads, ride bicycles, skateboard and even play football and other games without inhaling vehicle exhaust fumes.

“It feels good to have the street just for us, so spacious! Though sometimes ignorant cars illegally pass by, ruining our car-free day,” said Febry Andy, a security officer who lives in Salemba, Central Jakarta. “I park my motorcycle at Monas [National Monument] and then just walk with my niece, enjoying the empty street.”

According to 2008 data from the Jakarta Environmental Management Board (BPLHD), the average number of airborne dust particles on car-free days drops by 34 percent, carbon monoxide levels by 68 percent and nitrogen oxide levels by 80 percent.

“We want to improve the quality of Jakarta’s air, and what has been done shows the quality of the city’s air recovers significantly,” said Rina Suryani, head of pollution control at the BPLHD.