[sustran] Re: Jakarta busway twists and turns?

[Robert Cowherd]

Evidence on the ground in Jakarta suggest that there is indeed cause for
serious concern over the continued viability of Bus Rapid Transit in
Jakarta. The history of excellent measures being scrapped due to problems of
implementation is crowded enough to give one pause.

The whole endeavor was basically forced through on the force of personality
by Governor Sutiyoso loosely based on Transmilenio, Bogota. His gamble
seemed a good one at the time: We can endure the hardship of construction
and the initial decrease in the flow of traffic confident that in the
medium-term, more people will take to the buses, even those with cars, and
overall mobility as quantified and perceived will increase. The problem is
that even Jakartans that one would expect to support the busway are now
incensed at the dramatically worsening of conditions. They eagerly await
what they perceive as the all but inevitable rolling back of the program and
a return to the ever expanding asphalt approach to mobility.

I am not aware of serious endeavors towards course correction but I will
inquire a bit.

Robert Cowherd, PhD, Associate Professor of Architecture
Wentworth Institute of Technology 550 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02115 USA
cowherdr at wit.edu; +1 617 989-4453


On 11/21/07 8:43 AM, "Walter Hook" <whook at itdp.org> wrote:

> John ernst tells me that several of the corridors have been open for some
> time now during the construction, but that it is temporary.
> 
> w
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org at list.jca.apc.org
> [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf
> Of Paul Barter
> Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 1:49 AM
> To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport
> Subject: [sustran] Jakarta busway twists and turns?
> 
> 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
> -------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 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)
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> Apologies for the confusing arrangement.
> 
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> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable
> and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global
> South').