Traffic congestion has been the biggest problem faced by Jakarta for decades. From 2004 to 2010, number of vehicles in Jakarta grew at 12 percent annually, while road length only grew at 0.01 percent [i]. Out of 20.9 million daily trips within Greater Jakarta, 34 percent of them are made by private vehicles, the highest such share among cities of comparable size (see Figure 1). The average time commuters spent on the street has also increased significantly. A trip from my house at the western tip of Jakarta to the National Monument in Central Jakarta, which used to take me around 45 minutes in 2005, now takes around 75 minutes.
Private Vehicles
|
Public Transports
|
Others
| |
Jakarta, 2010
|
34%
|
28%
|
38%
|
Tokyo, 2009
|
12%
|
51%
|
37%
|
Mumbai, 2011
|
15%
|
52%
|
33%
|
Shanghai, 2011
|
20%
|
33%
|
47%
|
Beijing, 2011
|
21%
|
26%
|
53%
|
New York, 2009
|
29%
|
55%
|
16%
|
Delhi, 2011
|
19%
|
48%
|
33%
|
Seoul, 2010
|
26%
|
63%
|
11%
|
Figure 1. Distribution of modal share in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) and other cities of comparable size. Source: Reference Materials for Governor of DKI Jakarta, Jakarta Transportation Agency (Dishub Jakarta), Dec 2010.
One possible way to cope with increasing traffic congestion in Jakarta is to significantly increase the road (to total area) ratio [ii]. The previous administration has approved a proposal to build new toll roads in Jakarta’s downtown which will add 0.3 percent to the current ratio of 6.26 percent. The completion of these roads will ease traffic on several heavily-used roads that run in parallel with the planned toll roads. However, such move will only encourage people to drive private vehicles and will further exacerbate traffic congestion in areas that become the destination of most commuters, such as Sudirman and Kuningan.
Another possible solution is to reduce the number of vehicles on the street. This is the aim of the new provincial government led by Joko Widodo when they expressed their plans to implement odd-evens car restriction policy [iii], Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme, as well as other policies to increase economic disincentives of driving private vehicles in Jakarta. This policy might be successful in forcingsome people to use public transports. However, without a change on the way people think about using public transports over private vehicles, creative Indonesians might find a way to circumvent the regulation and thus enabling them to drive their private vehicles without much restriction or incurring any extra costs. This is exactly what happened with the existing “3-in-1” scheme [iv]. Any cars are now able to enter “3-in-1” restricted roads by hiring “jockeys” [v] to meet the requirement of having at least 3 passengers inside the car.
Traffic congestion is more complex than just the number of vehicles and road length. Playing around with these two variables will not solve the problem. The solution is to reduce the number of vehicles on the street by making people voluntarily willing to switch to public transports. This is only possible when there is a shift on the way people look at public transports. For this paradigm shift to happen there must be both push and pull factors. The push factor would be the economic disincentives of driving private vehicles on the streets of Jakarta. The pull factor would be the convenient, reliable, affordable, and well integrated public transports.
The Push Factor
Disincentive policies must be pursued progressively, starting from the most lenient policy adapted to the current state of public transports in Jakarta. ERP would be a good choice to start with. For ERP to work, the government should define a restricted zone. Restricted zone should initially be limited to roads with sufficient access to public transports. Roads served by TransJakarta Busway Corridor 1 would be the best candidate [vi]. ERP could then be activated on these roads. The size of restricted zone could then be increased gradually in the future to include roads with improved access to public transports.
Parking rate for lots within the restricted zone should then be increased steadily. To complement this policy, government should introduce a park-and-ride scheme. Subscription to this scheme will allow drivers to park their vehicles in designated parking lots near major transport interchanges (located before entering the restricted zone) at a significantly lower rate and to transfer to public transports. Therefore, if a driver chooses to drive his or her car into the restricted zone, he or she will incur an ERP toll as well as higher parking rate. It would then be more beneficial for him or her to leave the car in a designated park-and-ride parking lot and then transfer to public transports.
Stronger policies such as limiting age of vehicles registered in Jakarta, imposing more taxes such as road taxes or higher value-added taxes to Jakarta-registered vehicles, or even removing completely fuel subsidy for private vehicles in Jakarta, could be mulled over once public transports met the required standard. By then, as rational beings, Jakartans would see that it is economically more beneficial for them to take public transports rather than using their own vehicles. Hence, the number of private vehicles on the street would be reduced and traffic congestion is going to be a problem of the past.
The Pull Factor
Jakarta’s public transports must be convenient, reliable, affordable, and well integrated. Capacity improvement should also be the top priority. Public transports should cover at least half of total daily trips made in 2020 within Greater Jakarta, in order to reduce traffic by 30 to 40 percent [vii].
First of all, there is a pressing need to build mass rapid transit (MRT) networks in Jakarta. MRT has the highest passenger-carrying capacity per line which makes it suitable for Jakarta. The planned 2 MRT lines would be able to carry around 1.9 million passengers each day by 2018 [viii]. MRT network should also be expanded to cover other heavily trafficked areas such as Palmerah, Kuningan, Matraman, and Kemayoran.
Secondly, existing public buses [ix] must be revamped in order to improve quality of service and reduce congestions caused by them. Buses armada must be rejuvenated with newer and air-conditioned units. Bus frequency must also be regularized and enforcement must be made to ensure buses stop only at designated bus stops. Public bus drivers should then be compensated with fixed wages. Currently, most are paid in commissions taken as a percentage of income that they get from passengers every day. Therefore, the more passengers they have, the more commissions they could keep. This has led them to stop on roadsides waiting for their buses to be full, eventually leading to serious congestion. Such a fixed compensation will obviate the need to wait for more passengers to board the bus and might eventually reduce congestion.
In addition, TransJakarta Busway should be improved so that each corridor could serve at least 10,000 passengers hourly. The average number of passengers per corridor hourly in 2011 was only 1,850 [x], way below similar system in Curitiba, which is able to transport 10,000 passengers hourly, and Bogota, with 35,000 passengers hourly [xi]. In order to reach this capacity, bus frequency must be increased and average boarding time reduced. This could be achieved by introducing more 2-door and articulated buses, which have more capacity and allow shorter boarding time. Inevitably, waiting time is reduced and bus stops will be less crowded, making TransJakarta a more convenient and attractive choice.
Furthermore, the efficiency of existing commuter railway, KRL Jabodetabek, must be significantly increased. In 2010, KRL Jabodetabek had carrying capacity of only 407,550 passengers daily [xii]. As a transportation backbone between Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, and Jakarta, KRL Jabodetabekshould have its capacity increased to at least 2 million passengers daily. This will cover half of the trips made between these regions and Jakarta (see Figure 2). To reach this capacity, headway must be reduced to below 5 minutes by increasing train frequency, modernizing signaling systems, and reducing the number of level crossing.
Total trips, daily
| |
Within Jakarta
|
16,703,167
|
From and to Tangerang
|
1,158,486
|
From and to Serpong
|
562,661
|
From and to Bogor, Depok, and Cileungsi
|
1,185,403
|
From and to Bekasi
|
1,330,554
|
Total
|
20,940,271
|
Figure 2. Number of trips from and to Jakarta, as as well as within Jakarta, 2010 Figures. Source: Reference Materials for Governor of DKI Jakarta, Jakarta Transportation Agency (Dishub Jakarta), Dec 2010.
Finally, all these efforts would not be effective if all systems are not well integrated with each other.KRL Jabodetabek should be integrated with TransJakarta Busway and MRT system to allow seamless transfer between them. Designated park-and-ride parking lots must be well placed near major interchanges as well. Integration should also include integrated fare and ticketing across all systems. Non-integrated public transport systems will cause inconvenience, increased travel time, and eventually lead to decrease of ridership.
The Hurdles
However there are several hurdles waiting to be overcome. The biggest one might come from car industry which has most profited from the fast vehicles growth in Jakarta. They might have a strong lobbying power with the government and potentially thwart any efforts to introduce ERP, build MRT, and impose more disincentives on private vehicles. The byzantine Indonesian bureaucracy and uncertain regulations have further worsened the condition. The first study for Jakarta MRT was started in 1995, but it has not made any progress only until recently. Another challenge is in setting fare which is affordable and able to cover at least the operational costs of service providers. Therefore, the new public transports system will not only attract private vehicle owners, but also retain their current users: Jakarta’s poorest. If we could overcome these hurdles, Jakarta would be a better city: its public transports are thriving, its air is cleaner, and it would be more pleasant to walk and cycle on Jakarta’s street.
[i] Jakarta in Figures 2011, Statistics of DKI Jakarta Province (BPS Provinsi DKI Jakarta), 2011.
[ii] Jakarta’s road to total area ratio is only 6.26%, much lower than Tokyo (22%) and Singapore (12%).
[iii] This policy will limit the number of cars on the street by car’s license plate number, similar with the policy implemented in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics. All vehicles with plate number ending in an odd number will only be allowed to enter restricted areas every other day. On days when odd numbered license plates are allowed, vehicles with license plates ending in an even number are prohibited. Exemptions are given for ambulances, fire trucks, and other emergency vehicles.
[iv] Roads under the “3-in-1” traffic management scheme are restricted to cars with less than 3 passengers in it.
[v] “Jockey” is an extra passenger paid to allow the car to enter 3-in-1 restricted area.
[vi] These roads are: Jl Sisingamangaraja, Jl Jend Sudirman, Jl MH Thamrin, Jl Medan Merdeka Barat, Jl Majapahit, Jl Gajah Mada, Jl Hayam Wuruk, and Jl Pintu Besar Selatan.
[vii] Heru Sutomo, Jakarta Urban Transport Policy: Racing with Fast Motorization, Centre for Transportation and Logistics Studies (PUSTRAL) Gadjah Mada University, 2010, p7.
[viii] Ex-ante Evaluation for the Construction of Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit Project (I), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), 2009.
[ix] Public buses include not only large bus, but also Metromini, Kopaja, and minibuses such as Mikrolet.
[x] Jakarta in Figures 2011, Statistics of DKI Jakarta Province (BPS Provinsi DKI Jakarta), 2011.
[xi] Making TransJakarta Busway a World Class BRT System, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), November 2007, p4.
[xii] Jakarta in Figures 2011, Statistics of DKI Jakarta Province (BPS Provinsi DKI Jakarta), 2011.
