T

he Transportation Ministry is proposing an ambitious master plan to avoid total gridlock in Greater Jakarta in 2014.

The plan, presented on Monday to officials from the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) and the administrations of Jakarta, Banten and West Java, calls for a dramatic expansion of public transportation between
Jakarta and its satellite cities.

The ministry called for creating 17 bus routes, 10 feeder bus routes, nine park-and-ride facilities, 17 integrated transit hubs, an expansion of railroad tracks and construction of facilities for cyclists and pedestrians.

“We have seen an increasing number of Jakarta workers living in the Greater Jakarta area who commute every day,” ministry ground transportation chief Suroyo Alimoeso said at the Transportation Ministry on Monday.

“But we haven’t seen an expansion of railway-based public transportation. We want to fix this,” Suroyo added.

The planned bus routes would connect Jakarta’s main terminals with the edge cities of Tangerang, Banten; and Bekasi, Bogor and Depok, West Java.

According to a study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in 2004, Jakarta will face total gridlock by 2020.

The prediction seems likely to be realized. The number of vehicles on the city’s streets has risen by 11 percent a year on average in recent years.

According to the Jakarta Police Traffic Directorate, 20.7 million people travel through the capital on a daily basis, 56.8 percent of who use their own vehicles.

The ministry said that there would be 64 million daily trips made in Greater Jakarta by 2020, which would be up from 53 million daily trips recorded in 2010. The ministry also recorded an average of 7.7 million daily trips made using public transportation in 2012.

Deputy Transportation Minister Bambang Susantono said that the plan would be implemented over several years. “We aim to start working on the plan in 2013. If there is no substantial response in a week [from stakeholders], the master plan will be endorsed by the transportation minister.”

“We want to avoid total traffic gridlock in 2014.”

According to Bambang, the project might use funds outside the state budget. “It might be financed by the state budget and regional budgets. Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, as well as [state-owned railway company] PT KAI may also contribute. It is possible that we will involve private investors.”

The Transportation Ministry’s railway chief Tundjung Inderawan said that the plan’s rail component would be implemented by 2030.

“Our short-term target include completing the commuter line connecting Soekarno Hatta airport to Manggarai [East Jakarta] by the end of this year and the [Manggarai to Cikarang] double-double track in two years,” Tundjung said.

Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he supported the plan.

“We have conducted numerous studies, we need no more,” the governor said. “The most important thing is realizing the projects in accordance with the master plan so we can improve public service. Whether this will use the state budget or the regional budget [...] it’s not a problem.”

Jokowi’s administration is currently working on several initiatives to limit the number of vehicles on the road while pushing suburban commuters to leave their cars home and take public transportation instead.

In cooperation with the police, Jakarta will soon enforce daily limits on the number of vehicles allowed on the road based on license plate numbers.

That scheme is slated to be followed by the implementation of an electronic road-pricing system, while rejuvenating public transportation fleet and management is also on the governor’s agenda.

The administration has also raised off-street parking fees and prohibited on-street parking on several roads.