T

he city administration is planning to implement a trial ban to keep motorcycles off two of the capital'€™s thoroughfares, Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, starting in December. The thoroughfares were chosen in line with the administration'€™s plan to impose an electronic road pricing (ERP) toll system on the capital'€™s main streets.

'€œWe will start the trial motorcycle ban [on the thoroughfares] in the second week of December,'€ Deputy Jakarta Transportation Agency Benjamin Bukit said after a leadership meeting at City Hall on Monday.

Benjamin said the policy would be imposed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The city'€™s motorcyclists are notorious for their reckless driving. Complaints from the public and law enforcers alike of motorcyclists going against the traffic flow, driving through red traffic lights and zigzagging haphazardly on the city'€™s streets are common.

Benjamin said out that the policy would aim to reduce the rate of road accidents in the capital.

The policy was introduced based on Law No. 22/2009, government regulation PP No. 32/2011 and Bylaw No. 1/2012, as well as Bylaw No. 5/2011 on limiting vehicles, Benjamin said.

Transportation Agency head Muhammad Akbar previously said that motorcyclists'€™ dangerous driving habits had led to more than 3,000 deaths in Jakarta in the past five years.

According to Jakarta Police data, 60 percent of the 5,820 traffic accidents that occurred last year in Greater Jakarta involved motorcycles.

This year, 61 percent of the 4,308 accidents that occurred from January to October involved motorcycles.

However, Jakarta Police data also showed that last year there were 11.93 million motorcycles in the city, or 74.35 percent of the total 16.04 million motorized vehicles in Greater Jakarta.

The large percentage of motorcycles may have contributed to the fact that a majority of the traffic accidents in Greater Jakarta involved motorcycles.

Furthermore, the Jakarta Police data also showed that the number of motorcycles in Greater Jakarta rose by around an average of 2,728 per day from 2008 to 2013.

Only last year the number of motorcycles rose by 1.22 million and was expected to continue to rise.

Benjamin said that the agency hoped the prohibition would push motorcyclists to use public transportation instead.

The agency planned to acquire more double-decker tourist buses to accommodate public users and extend their operating times an extra three hours to 10 p.m. every day, from a 9 a.m. start.

Separately, Jakarta Traffic Police chief Sr. Comr. Restu Mulya Budiyanto said that the police were prepared to assist in implementing the new rule.

'€œThe Transportation Agency had already invited us to help implement this new rule and we have already discussed it with the [acting] governor [Basuki '€˜Ahok'€™ Tjahaja Purnama]. Basically, we are more than ready to help,'€ Restu said on Monday.

Restu explained that during the test-run of the new prohibition, the traffic police would not be ticketing or fining any motorcyclists that continue to use Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat. Instead, Restu said, the officers would be explaining the new rule to the motorcyclists and redirecting them to routes that they would be allowed to use.

'€œIt'€™s called a test-run for a reason, you know? We would obviously still have more to evaluate after we have finished testing. For example, we would have to see if we have enough traffic signs or officers. Furthermore, we would have to work on raising awareness about the new rule too,'€ he said.