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fter a long wait for the green light from the central government, the much-anticipated electronic road pricing (ERP) system is likely to be implemented next year, Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.

Jokowi said over the weekend that the central government had finally approved the pivotal legal basis for the ERP implementation.

“I have been informed that the regulation has been signed,” the governor said.

Last year, Jakarta came one step closer to implementing the ERP after a Government Regulation (PP) on traffic management and engineering was signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The administration had been waiting for another PP drafted by the Finance Ministry regarding the ERP. One of the main obstacles holding back the implementation of the ERP scheme was that the road-pricing levy was not included as tax or retribution in the 2009 Regional Tax and Retribution Law.

“I am optimistic that we can start implementing the ERP next year,” Jokowi said.

Previously, the Jakarta Transportation Agency had said that it would take a year to prepare for the ERP implementation.

However, agency chief Udar Pristono said on Saturday that the agency would work its hardest for immediate implementation.

“We will work first on the detail of the engineering design for the ERP. From there we can start to consider where and how to implement the ERP and also how much we will require the motorist to pay,” Udar said.

The city has proposed the ERP system to discourage motorists from using private cars and instead opt for public transportation. The initial plan for the scheme is for the ERP to be applied on roads in the current “3-in-1” car-pooling zones and replace the old car-pooling system.

Under the 3-in-1 system, enacted in 1994, private cars must have at least three passengers on board to enter main thoroughfares from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta during the morning and afternoon rush hours on weekdays.

Motorists can cheat the 3-in-1 system by picking up “jockeys” — who wait by the side of the roads leading to 3-in-1 zones — to ride in their cars in the zone for a fee of Rp 25,000 (US$2.60) to Rp 30,000 per ride.

The Jakarta Traffic Police had suggested the administration set an ERP trip charge somewhere between Rp 50,000 and Rp 100,000.

The city, however, has said that a trip price of between Rp 6,500 and Rp 21,000 for the planned ERP system would be enough to reduce private vehicle use.

The administration said that the provisional trip charge reflected inflation and economic growth and was based on a survey of motorists and the tolls charged by turnpikes and ERP systems in other countries.

In the initial plan, vehicles will have an on-board unit installed that would automatically impose debit payments on drivers using specific roads at specific times.