Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Jakarta Traffic


Traffic in Jakarta is getting worse every day, especially during rush hours in the morning and late afternoon.

The reason is because the numbers of cars and motorcycles increased much faster than the construction of new roads, as well as insufficiency of good quality public transportation.

In 2010, there were around 6.7 million cars and motorcycles in Jakarta. The number would be much bigger if we include surrounding area of Depok, Bekasi and Tangerang where many of their inhabitants work in Jakarta i.e around 11 million vehicles consisting of 3 million cars and 8 million motorcycles.

According to the media, the sales of cars in Indonesia last year rose 57% to 764.710 from 486,061 in 2009, and motorcycles rose 26% to 7.37 million. Around 700 thousand motor vehicles were sold in Jakarta.

Actually, the Jakarta government has made some efforts to solve the traffic problems.
It has developed the Busway system that connects many parts of the city, but considering it was built on existing roads, no additional roads, therefore the traffic became worst.
It has imposed Car limitations on the city's main roads Jalan Thamrin, Gatot Subroto and Jalan Sudirman, few hours in the morning and in the afternoon.
Starting this year the Jakarta government shall impose progressive car ownership tax, whereby citizens must pay higher additional tax for every cars they have.  

Besides, there is also a plan to start the construction of an integrated  mass transportation system, but the project need several years to complete, in the meantime the number of motor vehicles would be increasing very fast.

Considering the above, I felt that the government of Jakarta must expedite the development of an integrated mass transportation system i.e. the Subway connecting the south-central-west, resume construction of the Monorail.

Moreover, misuse of lands and road pavements should be stopped and corrected,  development of shopping malls should be stopped because we already have more than enough. Existing malls should be required to provide more access for entrance and exist to their facilities.

Sources :
Indonesia Car Sales up 57%, Motorcycles Sales Up 26 (Kompas)
Tahun in Jumlah Sepeda Motor di Jakarta 8 Juta Unit (Tribune News)

Photo :  Courtesy of Viva News.

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Uiiiiih itu si rusdin goltom bukan yang nyopir busnya .hehehe..

memang semua berpulang pada kesadaran berkendara.dan aparat yang berwenang dalam hal tersebut..itu lama lama memang bisa makin memburuk dari hari ini

julicavero said...

traffic....traffic again...that's very terrible problem on this city. i dont think the goverment serious to solve this problem

deeahzone said...

Traffic jam is everyday in Jakarta! some issues said that our Capital City will be moved..hmmm ithink Jakarta is Jakarta, and it's such different if Jakarta will be moved to another country or Island,, Traffic is the problem that not only government, Let's start from ourself. Thanks Harry for share this

colson said...

It's annoying, very annoying I guess, and it will definitely get much worse before it will get any better.

But on the sunny side: the exploding sales of cars indicates a rapidly improving economic condition. At least in the greater Jakarta area.

TUKANG CoLoNG said...

kita lihat apa tindakan konkrit dari pemerintah

Unknown said...

We faced the same problem in Kuala Lumpur. The traffics are diverted somewhat when the Govt offices moved to Putra Jaya and developments moved outward away from the city centre. Subways could ease the congestion but its not going to be so soon. In fact the congestion is going to get worse while the work is in progress.Nevertheless it is the right direction to take.

Unknown said...

@Wisata Murah,
Masalahnya kompleks, jalan yang kurang, pembangunan mall gila2an, transportasi umum terbatas. Selama tidak dibenahi secara benar maka akan lebih parah.

@Julicavero,
I agree with you. But let's hope they will be serious in the future.

@Deahzone,
You are right let's start from ourselves for example driving cars or motorcycles according to rules,
try not to drive alone and ask others to go together, etc.

@Colson,
I agree that inspite of the traffic jam, the increase in sales shows that the economy is growing rapidly.

@TUKANG CoLoNG,
Tepat sekali, mari kita berharap ada tindakan yang konkrit untuk mengatasi kemacetan.

Unknown said...

Hi Umi,
I remember and used to envy about the traffic condition in KL many years ago. My parents lived in PJ and I don't recall facing bad traffic jam whenever I go to our embassy in KL or other destinations.
I heard the situation is different now,

Unknown said...

Its a problem in every large international city, even here in NZ.

Unknown said...

Hi Harry, traffic is only a part of it really, bad road maintenance, no bus stops, ineffective policing and management, cheap fuel, centralized government and business offices are all part of the problem.
Adding an MRT and Subway in the long term will help but not in the short term. Higher taxes, fuel, and enforced regulation will help as will changing the ease which credit can be gained.
But whatever, something needs to be done

sawali tuhusetya said...

agaknya bukan hal yang mudah utk mengurai kemacetan lalu lintas di jakarta, mas harry. bukan hanya soal jumlah kendaraan yang terus bertambah, melainkan juga budaya disiplin berlalu lintas sulit diwujudkan. jalur bushway pun sering dikemplang utk angkutan umum atau pribadi. apa ndak makin repot nih, mas?

Unknown said...

@Peter/Kiwi,
Yes international cities have traffic problems.

@Luke,
The main cause of Jakarta's traffic problem is inconsistency in the implementation development plans, violations of of master plan, and weak law enforcement some of the details have been mentioned by you Luke.

@Sawali,
Tepat sekali mas Sawali faktor utama penyebabnya adalah tidak disiplin warga maupun staff pemerintah dalam penerapan hukum, perencanaan kota. Ini jelas terlihat dari disulapnya banyak jalur hijau menjadi mall, pompa bensin dll.

triesti said...

I heard some of the buses are going to stop come february but the busway is already overcrowded as it is at the moment. Before they stop the normal buses, make sure more busways are available so those passengers can be accomodated

Unknown said...

Hi Triesti,
I heard about that too. The govt. better make sure that much more Busway, incl. routes, would be added. Otherwise I cannot imagine how terrible it would be.

Edwin's Blog said...

i've been in such a crowd when i was in jakarta months ago. it really screwed up for me. but this is reality...
.
how're you doing mas harry? hoping you are blessed with health everytime...

Teras Info said...

mungkin, suatu saat nanti jika keadaan Jakarta seperti itu terus...
tidak akan ada kendaraan yang bisa lewat....

berangkat ke kantor yang harusnya sampai dalam waktu 15 menit malah jadi 3 Jam lagi..he..he...

thanks for your information... :D

Blogger Bumi Lasinrang said...

I Think There is no way to solve this problem in Jakarta MR

Unknown said...

@Edwin,
I am okay. I wish that we met when you were in Jakarta. Next time okay?

@Teras Info,
Menurut perkiraan ahli perkotaan, kalau tidak ada jalan keluar maka lalu lintas Jakarta seperti keadaan terkunci tidak gerak (Griodlock).

@Blogger Bumi Larinrang,
Let's be postive and hope that the government will keep its promises.

Berpikir Positif said...

if I live in jakarta I will stress maybe if I trap in traffic jam

Unknown said...

Berpikir Positif,
Jakarta the condition in Jakarta tend to make some people stressed.

r10 said...

saya juga capai dgn macet, berangkat dari rumah jam setengah 6 sudah macet, belum kalau ditambah banjir akibat hujan

Unknown said...

R10,
Kemacetan di Jakarta semakin lama semakin berat.