RI, Japan to hold new study on urban transportation

The government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will hold a study on transportation in Greater Jakarta from March to May this year.

The Jabodetabek Urban Transportation Policy Integration Project (JUPTI) will be used to renew data gathered from the 2002 Study on Integrated Transportation Master Plan (SITRAMP), a project official said Wednesday.

“The SITRAMP study was held eight years ago,” said JUPTI project manager Aldian.

“We need updated information, given the growth in population and vehicle numbers.”

The results of the study are expected to reflect real-world attitudes toward public and private transportation in Jakarta and its satellite cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, he said.

Aldian added he did not know the projected cost of the study, saying the JICA would manage all the procurement processes, including providing transportation experts in various fields and hiring surveyors.

“Japan has some projects here, including the planned MRT [Mass Rapid Transit],” he said.

The Indonesian government and local administrations across the country have taken soft loans from Japan to fund a number of major infrastructure projects, including the MRT and a geothermal power plant in Lampung province.

Aldian said the government had not applied some SITRAMP study recommendations, including the formation of an action board with the authority to draft integrated transportation policy for Jabodetabek, or a vehicle limitation system through electronic road pricing (ERP).

The ERP — a project involving surveillance cameras and microchips to get drivers carrying less than three passengers to pay extra fees when using certain high-occupancy roads — was delayed after the city failed to get approval from the Finance Ministry.

“If the action board is formed and it uses the JUPTI’s recommendations in its agenda, then the results of the study can be binding,” Aldian said.

On the Japanese side, the study will involve two long-term experts and 12 short-term experts.
The Indonesian side will consist of government officials, including from the Coordinating Economic Ministry, the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), the Public Works Ministry, traffic police, local administration officials in Jabodetabek, consultants and transportation operators.

Aldian said the updated findings from the study were expected to be available to the public by the end of the year.

Transportation analyst Darmaningtyas called on the government to do the right thing and adopt the study’s recommendations this time around.

“Suitable recommendations should be applied, but the city needs to decide which will be applicable for Jakarta,” he told The Jakarta Post.

He added studies by the JICA could not be separated from Japan’s interest in Indonesia as a market for its automotive industry.

The JUTPI study will survey 180,000 households or 3 percent of the Jabodetabek population.
Part of the study will include tracking the movements of 2,000 people, 300 cars and 300 motorcycles with global positioning system (GPS) devices.