[sustran] Re: Subway in Jakarta

[Eric Bruun]

I know nothing about the specifics of the project, but I have
some general comments. There is always the conflict between the
long term and short term. Surely a city the size of Jakarta
should eventually have a rapid transit system. I don't agree with 
people who say that buses and private services like becaks will be
adequate for the forseeable future. Imagine what Mexico City
or Sao Paolo would be like without rapid transit networks.

Perhaps the pace of construction should be slowed down and more
money put into bus lanes, signal priority etc., But if the 
government refuses to take road space and give it to public
transport, then expensive grade-separated systems are a must.
We actually have this problem even in the US -- the people who keep
criticizing grade-separated transit as too expensive are almost
never to be found when support is needed for bus lanes, which suggests
that their real agenda is to stop public spending or promote autos,
not improve mobility or livability. We end up with relatively costly
projects with high levels of grade separation, and generally ones that
benefit upper middle class suburbs most, because these are the ones that
can get political and financial supports. The question is: is this
better than doing nothing? In really big cities the answer is probably
yes.

Easier said than done, but rather than forcing operators to raise
fares to survive, public transport fares should be subsidized by taxes on
car and truck users. I understand that the new Bangkok Metro, because
it is supposed to be commercially viable, has fares so high as to
be unaffordable to most of the population. So the people that can
afford to drive will be the ones using the rail system. What is 
wrong with this picture?  Eric Bruun 

On Fri, 19 Nov 1999, Jachrizal Sumabrata wrote:

> Dear friends,
> 
> The 15 kms project worth US$ 1,5 billion, which starts from Jl. Fatmawati
> in South Jakarta up to the Kota in North Jakarta, will continue its
> construction in 2000. It appears that it is an inappropriate ambitious
> project, not only because the crisis is still underway, but also Southern
> part of Jakarta is a highly controlled area.
> 
> In addition, at the moment bus operators are still wishing to raise ticket
> prices, while urban poverty is still struggling to operate an NMT (Becak)
> in Jakarta.
> 
> In relation to these problems, it may be argued that focus of benefits of
> transport investment was insufficiently assumed through its effect on
> economic growth only as in the past. More importantly, transport
> improvements should be also an instrument of proverty reduction.
> 
> I am looking forward to your responds regarding this matter.
> 
> Regards
> 
> 
> Jachrizal Sumabrata
> Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning
> The University of Melbourne
> Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia
> Telephone, +61 3 9344 9863
> Facsimile, +61 3 9344 5532
>