[sustran] Re: Reader's Digest Article

[V. Setty Pendakur]

Jakarta situation is repeated endlessly in many developing and developed country cities.  The key issue is mobility, especially when families in Asia have to compete strenuously for employment and entry into social infrastructure.  The motorcycle provides the mobility for the middle income families, who sacrifice safety for higher mobility.  The vehicle will generally start from home, drop off children at school, then drop off one spouse at work and the go to work.  The bus system could not match this even with BRT.  The primary advantage of BRT has to be to increase the operational efficiency of the bus system and as a result provide higher mobility and efficiency for the users.

People are looking to maximize the door to door travel efficiency and cost.  In many instances, the bus system is way too costly compared to the motorcycle, when only direct costs are considered.

The dilemma is too complex to think that BRT alone will solve the problems.

Cheers.
V. Setty Pendakur
President
Pacific Policy and Planning Associates
702--1099 Marinaside Crescent
Vancouver, BC, Canada  V6Z 2Z3
Phone: 604-263-3576; Fax:604-263-6493
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: John Ernst 
  To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport 
  Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2004 7:41 PM
  Subject: [sustran] Re: Reader's Digest Article


  I would also suggest that, again for urban buses, a good example of both 
  the problems and the start of a solution can be found in Jakarta.

  Jakarta is a good example of the deterioration of urban bus service in Asia 
  caused by the downward spiral of bus service as passengers switch to 
  motorcycles, and eventually cars.  The increase in private vehicles 
  produces severe congestion.

  As the buses are caught in that congestion, they suffer from longer travel 
  times, more fuel use, and more wear and tear, per passenger fare.  Corners 
  are cut that decrease bus and service quality.  This provides incentive for 
  more passengers to switch to motorcycles and other modes, reducing fare 
  revenue, further increasing congestion ... thus the downward spiral.

  The result in Jakarta is some very old, patched together, highly polluting, 
  poorly regulated buses.  Security on-board is non-existent and pickpockets 
  and "razor artists" (who slit open your bag or pocket to remove the 
  contents) are both skilled and plentiful.

  The licensing system is non-transparent to say the least, and there is also 
  an informal system of streetside extortion of bus operators (with either 
  the tacit or active support of the police).


  On the solution side, Jakarta implemented a bus rapid transit system in 
  January of this year, modeled loosely on the system in Bogota and other 
  Latin American cities.  It is not perfect, and the agency - TransJakarta - 
  is struggling to overcome the institutional hurdles inherent in the overall 
  bus system.

  However, the TransJakarta busway now provides fast, efficient access to the 
  primary business corridor in Jakarta.  The buses operate in a segregated 
  lane and so are largely immune from the congestion.  Fares are collected 
  before boarding using electronic smart cards, at special enclosed 
  stations.  Buses are new and clean, with security personnel in stations and 
  on buses.  There is a zero-tolerance policy toward pickpockets (the whole 
  bus is stopped and searched if an incident is reported).

  Public acceptance has been very high and the system is operating above it's 
  maximum design capacity -- additional buses are being added this 
  year.  Although the route is only 13km (8 miles) long, it is carrying about 
  60,000 passengers per day and already is roughly covering its operating 
  costs.  A second corridor is now under construction and a total of 14 
  corridors are planned.

  Because the buses are freed from congestion, bus profitability dramatically 
  increases.  This presents the opportunity for the city to demand higher 
  quality of service from private operators, while the entire system can 
  operate without government subsidy (unlike nearly every urban rail system 
  which usually saddle governments with massive debt).

  While the Bus Rapid Transit concept is currently best expressed in Bogota, 
  the idea is spreading in Asia, with systems now being designed in India 
  (Delhi and Hyderabad), Beijing, and elsewhere.  Primarily because it 
  reallocates public infrastructure away from private transit and back toward 
  public transit, it likely represents the best hope for high-quality urban 
  bus service in Asia.

  John


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  John Ernst   -  Director, Asia Region
  ITDP - The Institute for Transport and Development Policy
      115 West 30th Street - Suite 1205, New York, NY 10001
      Tel +1 (212) 629-8001   Direct Tel +1 (719) 635-8856  Direct Fax +1 
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