[sustran] Jakarta busway twists and turns?

[Paul Barter]

The Jakarta busways appear to be facing some curious decisions according
to this Jakarta Post article below. 

See near the end where it says: 
"On Nov. 5 the administration announced motorists would be permitted to
use certain sections of other busway corridors in the city for a month.
The decision was made to ease traffic congestion caused by the ongoing
construction of the three new corridors."

This means mixed traffic is being allowed into operational busways?
Can anyone fill in the background on what is going on in Jakarta? Should
we be worried about the future of BRT there or is this a minor hiccup?

Paul
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Jakarta Post November 21, 2007	 

	
More busway delays predicted 

City News - Wednesday, November 21, 2007 

Mustaqim Adamrah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration may delay the launch of services on three busway
corridors currently being constructed until March.

It was first predicted the corridors would be fully operational by the
end of the year. 

City secretary Ritola Tasmaya said the delay was caused by several
problems, including delays in the procurement of ticketing machines and
buses. 

"These delays were partly caused by the delayed disbursement of the city
budget, meaning we had to readjust the procurement schedule," he said. 

However, the head of the Jakarta Transportation Agency, Nurachman, said
Tuesday the project was still on track and would be completed by its
scheduled finish date. 

"Dec. 15 was nominated as the deadline for these corridors to be
finished by, not the day when busway services on these corridors would
commence," he said. 

Nurachman said it was likely busway services would commence on the three
corridors by May. 

He said delays may be encountered in the construction of the remaining
four busway corridors, which were initially expected to be built next
year. 

The corridors currently under construction are corridor VIII, which will
link Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to Harmoni in Central Jakarta (19.6
kilometers), corridor IX linking Pinang Ranti in East Jakarta to Pluit
in North Jakarta (45.6 km) and corridor X linking Cililitan in East
Jakarta to Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta (37.8 km). 

Jakarta Public Works Agency head Wisnu Subagya Yusuf said the three
corridors were approximately 80 percent compete as of Nov. 16. 

Nurachman said motorists would be permitted to use the three busway
corridors until services were introduced. 

"It is better to partly overcome traffic congestion by allowing people
to use these lanes rather than leaving them empty," he said. 

On Nov. 5 the administration announced motorists would be permitted to
use certain sections of other busway corridors in the city for a month. 

The decision was made to ease traffic congestion caused by the ongoing
construction of the three new corridors. 

The administration and Jakarta Police have deployed 5,000 personnel to
implement the policy, known as the Jala Jaya traffic operation. 

Police have so far fined 114 drivers for parking or stopping illegally
during the operation. 

Nine vehicles were seized and are currently being held at the police
vehicle document center in Daan Mogot, West Jakarta. 

The city police's head of traffic accidents, Adj. Comr. Irvan Prawira,
said drivers of public busses who parked illegally on Jl. Letjen
Suprapto in Central Jakarta made up the majority of people fined. 

Police have also been deployed to the Jl. Sabang, Cideng, Pasar Baru and
Sarinah areas in Central Jakarta, Jl. RE Martadinata and Jl. Yos Sudarso
in North Jakarta, Jl. Otista Raya in East Jakarta and Jl. Melawai in
South Jakarta as part of the operation. (adt)