[sustran] fwd: Jakarta seeks new traffic restraint methods

[SUSTRAN Network Secretariat]

The Jakarta Post
City News     
March 02, 2000 

Replacement 3-in-1 system sought

JAKARTA (JP): As the three-in-one policy in restricted areas has only
created a problem with traffic jockeys, the city administration is now
looking for a new, more suitable system to handle traffic congestion during
rush hours, an official said on Wednesday. 

"Governor Sutiyoso has ordered a review of the policy as it has only
attracted children to serve as three-in-one traffic jockeys," head of the
City Traffic and Land Transportation Agency Buyung Atang told The Jakarta
Post. 

"We have detained more than 1,200 jockeys and fined more than 1,400
drivers. Yet, the jockeys keep returning and the drivers continue using
them," he said. 

He said his agency had conducted research for the past three weeks by
temporarily revoking the policy in an effort to calculate the number of
private vehicles passing the restricted zones. 

"We didn't announce the provisional revocation of the policy as it would
hamper our evaluation. Everyone would then pass through the restricted
zones," he said, while insisting that the policy was still in effect. 

"Even without a public announcement, the number of cars entering the zones
has jumped about 200 percent," he added. 

He said there were about 89,000 private vehicles passing through the
restricted streets per week before the policy was revoked. Now, the number
has jumped to 180,000. 

He dismissed speculation that the city administration would revoke the
policy and impose a sticker system to overcome traffic congestion. 

"There's no such plan. We're just evaluating the three-in-one policy. The
rest is up to the governor," Buyung said. 

He admitted, however, that there was a 1998 Presidential Decree No. 50
which allowed the city administration to impose a sticker system. 

"The governor listened to residents opposed to the sticker system and
continued with the three-in-one policy," he said. 

The sticker system drew opposition from many areas, including the
Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI). 

Sutiyoso said earlier on Tuesday that with the sticker system the city
administration would secure revenues to subsidize public transportation
expenditures. 

"The money collected from stickers could be spent to subsidize the
transportation owners' expenditures or to buy new buses," he said. 

"The current condition of our public transportation is very bad. Look at
those buses of the state-owned PPD bus company," he added. 

Separately, deputy chairperson of YLKI, Agus Pambagio regretted Sutiyoso's
decision to secretly revoke the administration's three-in-one policy. 

"The policy is a public policy, in which the public took part in the
planning and execution stages. Therefore, any instruction or revocation
should also be made public," said Agus on the sidelines of a seminar at the
Ministry of Transportation building. 

He lashed out at the governor, accusing him of lacking sensitivity to the
people's interests. 

"The decision has caused a great impact on jockeys since they will lose
their jobs," he said. 

"It will increase criminal activities on the street because jobless jockeys
may commit crimes on the street," he added. 

Agus demanded that the city administration make an announcement to end the
confusion whether the policy was still in effect or not. 

"We only read it in the media. The decision should be made public to end
confusion," he said. 

He supported the plan to replace the three-in-one policy, but suggested a
thorough discussion before deciding a new system. 

"We should publicly discuss the liability of the recently-proposed sticker
system before the administration puts the policy into effect," he said.
(asa/nvn) 

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A. Rahman Paul BARTER
Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia
and the Pacific (the SUSTRAN Network)
P.O. Box 11501, Kuala Lumpur 50748, Malaysia.
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