T

raffic gives everyone in the city a headache, including Governor Fauzi Bowo. Foke, as he is popularly known, is facing mounting pressure from the public, particularly road users, who are frequently trapped on the city’s congested roads during peak hours in the morning and evening.

The results of a survey revealed Tuesday confirmed people’s frustration, as 76.61 percent of respondents thought Foke and his deputy Prijanto have done a terrible job reducing Jakarta’s traffic, while 73.2 percent thought the pair was doing a poor job handling problems related to annual flooding.

But, we do not need a survey to know people’s opinion of the city’s traffic. Thousands of road users – frustrated by daily gridlock – obviously give the pair, whose term will end next year, a thumbs-down.

Yes, Governor Fauzi only has one more year to prove he is capable of solving Jakarta’s various problems, particularly the traffic chaos. It is undeniable that the traffic is the capital city’s main problem, as it does not only frustrate road users but also worsens air pollution and causes economic inefficiency.

The governor and the city administration have taken some measures to solve this problem, i.e. preparing for the construction of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) that will serve the Lebak Bulus bus terminal in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia Traffic Circle in Central Jakarta, attempting to clear a number of roads of on-street parking and going ahead with and expanding the Transjakarta Busway.

Unfortunately, what is being done by the city is just business as usual, which is unlikely to end the already acute traffic problems in the city. Jakarta needs an extraordinary effort to solve this extraordinary problem. And, should the governor come up with a brilliant idea to solve the traffic gridlock, it will be a significant legacy to be remembered by all Jakartans.

But of course we cannot pin all the blame on Governor Fauzi and his administration. Other institutions, particularly the central government, have to support him. It is good that the central government announced Thursday its initiative to design a transportation master plan for Jakarta and its satellite cities, which will be followed by the establishment of the Greater Jakarta Transportation Authority (OTJ).

We welcome the initiative although it is already too late, considering that the city has suffered from this traffic issue for a very long time. We hope that the initiative will be translated and developed by the city administration as guidance for a long-term program of the city’s traffic and transportation system.

But, road users cannot wait too long. Therefore, the city needs to provide a concrete solution to end the long misery of road users.

Hopefully, the central government will come up with a more concrete proposal to solve the problem. And for Governor Fauzi, you still have a year to come up with a solid solution to the problem before you have to deal with people’s critical evaluations if you intend to run for a second term next year.