Police shift blame for 3-in-1 policy

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 11/29/2006 12:47 PM | Jakarta

Prodita Sabarini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Police traffic chief Sr. Comr. Djoko Susilo said Wednesday that Governor Sutiyoso should gather all the facts before blaming police for the shortcomings of the three-in-one policy.

""Sutiyoso should base his words on facts. The traffic directory has records of tickets issued to drivers who violated the three-in-one regulation,"" Djoko said.

Last week Sutiyoso blamed poor law enforcement and motorists' lack of discipline for the ineffective implementation of the three-in-one (three persons in one car) regulation. He hinted he might soon reevaluate the policy.

Djoko implied Sutiyoso was not aware of the reality on the streets.

""Let me ask you this. Does Sutiyoso not use police escorts every time he goes out?"" he said.

Traffic division data shows that 6,996 tickets were issued to three-in-one violators from January to October this year.

""If an officer observed a driver violating the regulation, I can assure you he would ticket him on the spot,"" he said.

However, in the case of stormy weather or a big traffic jam, police have no choice but to prioritize traffic control, he added.

Djoko's subordinate, Sr. Adj. Comr. Tomex Korniawan, added that the reason why traffic jams still occurred in three-in-one zones was because the busway lanes took up too much space.

A study is being carried out by the traffic police to determine the effectiveness of the regulation, the results of which will be made public next month.

First introduced in 1993, the three-in-one policy was applied for motorists passing Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta, and Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, from 6 to 10 a.m.

The city administration changed the policy several times. In 2004, the restriction was extended to include Jl. Gatot Subroto and Jl. Sisingamangaraja in South Jakarta and Jl. Gadjah Mada in Kota, Central Jakarta. It was also applied in the evening from 5 to 8 p.m.

Vendors along Jl. Gajah Mada and in Kota, however, protested the policy saying their revenue had dropped by nearly 50 percent because of it. The city administration then decided to reevaluate the policy, changing the hours from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The head of the Indonesian Transportation Society, Darmaningtyas, told The Jakarta Post the traffic regulation benefited public transportation users, as the city's fast lanes were less congested during three-in-one hours.

Car owners, however, might not feel the same, particularly as the policy is effective on streets where there are also busway lanes.

""Car owners have to take alternative routes or pay a jockey, which is inconvenient for them,"" he said.

Darmaningtyas said he hoped the reevaluation of the policy would lead to a change for the better, such as the introduction of an electronic road pricing system.

""The money collected from charging drivers to use roads could be used to improve the public transportation system, so people would shift from driving cars to taking public transportation,"" he said.

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