W

e’re cursing and we’re moaning every day, but what are we doing about it? To get to a meeting on time in Jakarta these days, it takes twice the time it used to just two years ago. Or so I think. My friends, clients and colleagues agree. Nobody should be surprised. The perpetual gridlock has been a long time coming. Everybody but the city administration seems to know what needs to be done.

The ruling class with the flashing blue lights (and rude electronic grunts) are oblivious to the insults hurled at them as they carve their way through the constant mayhem. As the proverbial salt gets rubbed into the proverbial wound while they cruise by, you begin to understand those horrible images of Qaddafi’s last moments. Alright, I’m stretching things a bit here. But I’m not suggesting a call to arms, just a website to collect electronic signatures for citizens to register their protests.

All things considered, the wise thing to do would be to relocate the capital. It’s an idea that’s been kicked around for a while. Myanmar has done it, in record time. Why can’t Indonesia? It’s the only intelligent choice left and Jakartans deserve a fresh start. For the sake of national integration, Central Kalimantan would be a perfect location for a new capital. Imagine a gleaming new metropolis, a planned city of the 21st century. Imagine the number of jobs it would create. It could well be another example for others in Asia to follow. After all, it’s been done before. Canberra and Brasilia made more sense because they are far away from any major city. New Delhi is too close to old Delhi to make a real difference. By that yardstick Kalimantan is an excellent choice. The further away from Jakarta, or rather Java, the better.

A decision announced on April 1, the same day as the planned fuel price hike, would be a good political maneuver. It would be a diversion, a distraction, a major talking point. If anybody needed some facts and figures to explain the decision, here are some free-of-charge for anybody who’s interested. It’s the vox populi of Jakarta’s suffering millions, not my individual opinion.

Every form of transport in Jakarta has plummeted in popularity during the last five years, with the exception of motorcycles which have bred like rabbits. Households with cars are down, but many of those affluent homes have more than one car on the road. That explains why jalopies are a rare sight nowadays, even the modest Avanza is new. In the absence of any real additions to infrastructure in recent years, the resulting pandemonium is visible even through the most rose-tinted glasses. The much-flaunted Transjakarta busway is a miserable failure, even though it is a boon to its growing number of regular users. But the overall number of Jakartans using the generic “bus” as a regular mode of transport has been in rapid decline. No surprise. It’s taking the passengers, drivers and owners of just about every other bus, except the busway buses, much longer than before to navigate 1 measly kilometer. They’re giving up, quitting. Once again, here’s living proof of the gentle and courteous nature of the average Indonesian: there are hardly any incidents of road-rage. In the last five years, Jakartans using buses have gone down from 52 percent of the city’s population of 8 million to 35 percent. The picture doesn’t change much when you expand the aperture to include Greater Jakarta or JABODETABEK.

In sharp contrast, the number of people with at least one motorcycle in their household has climbed to 83 percent, up from 71 percent five years ago. Citizens using trains to neighboring cities and towns have crashed, down from 27 to 10 percent of the population even though a loyal group are regular users. Regular use of taxis has dropped too, from 35 to 21 percent of the population having used one at least once in the last three months.

Households with a car have given up, swapping the secondhand Kijang for a new motorcycle or two. Concentration of wealth and upturned noses are bringing more cars into many of the same affluent homes. A Mazda 2 isn’t entry-level for the middle-class in Jakarta. It’s the rich man’s gift to the wife or the daughter. It’s these homes primarily that have caused air travelers to double, climbing from 1 to 2 percent of Jakarta’s population since December 2006.

The new flyovers and underpasses under construction are welcome but can’t make much of a difference. The off-again on-again monorail is too little too late. The easiest, least painful solution is to move the government, all the ministries, the departments, the embassies and all the flashing blue lights to Kalimantan. Then, Jakarta would get a new lease of life. And get down to business. The savings in man-hours and fuel would finance the relocation, I reckon.

The opinions expressed are my own. The data is gleaned from Roy Morgan Single Source, the country’s largest syndicated survey with more than 26,000 respondents interviewed every year, week after week. The data is projected to reflect 87 percent of the population 14 years of age and over.

The writer can be contacted at debnath.guharoy@roymorgan.com