I

turned up late at an important appointment with European diplomats at Mega Kuningan, a prime site in South Jakarta well-known for diplomatic missions and upscale businesses.

I blamed it on a parking system that '€œdiscriminates'€ against motorcyclists like me.

In fact, I managed to arrive at the office building half an hour ahead of schedule, but the parking attendant denied me entry because I had no membership card.

I wished I had arrived by car. They asked me to park my motorbike at a lot some 500 meters away, which I eventually found after running around through junctions and one-way lanes.

The parking lot run by a well-known company was a shame: It was nothing but a puddle resulting from the overnight rain and there was no way you could stay clean. Prepare to take a hit of flying mud from an exiting bikes whizzing by.

Going back to the meeting on foot was a big deal, too as the event got underway 10 minutes earlier. And '€“ gosh '€“ the mud that smeared my shoes and my pants really embarrassed and distracted me during the meeting!

It turned out that many offices in upscale business districts like the SCBD (Sudirman Central Business District) have had enforced a similar policy.

Lately, when traffic snarls increasingly paralyze more of the capital city, discrimination against motorcycles is becoming official. Motorcycle riders have been subject to stereotyping as '€œreckless, aggressive and self-righteous'€.

They are blamed for the high rate of road accidents and for the horrendous traffic gridlock, which is of course not entirely true.

Many car riders are just as reckless, aggressive and self-righteous, too. Old MPVs and flashy alike cars are often seen speeding through the busway lanes and toll road shoulders and running through red lights.

 guess if their cars were small enough, drivers would also climb pedestrian bridges for a shortcut to get to the other side.

Although an average family car occupies a space equal to six motorcycles and moves slowly in the busy street, they are rarely blamed for traffic jams. Instead, the city administration spends billions of rupiahs each year to build new toll roads and offer incentives for low-cost cars.

The vehicles that millions of people have opted to buy for fuel efficiency and agility to negotiate the capital'€™s traffic during rush hours are being restricted.

If the trial is successful, it will mean that 8.7 million motorcyclists will be barred from the city'€™s main streets.

Officials only want to see sleek cars and a few big bikes like Harley Davidsons - traditionally seen as status symbols that the rich and the powerful.

Resolving the traffic woes in Jakarta will require another '€œmental revolution'€.

The city administration has long toyed with the idea of making main thoroughfares like Jl. Thamrin, Sudirman, Gatot Subroto, Rasuna Said and S. Parman, restricted areas for motorbikes. In 2010, then-governor Fauzi Bowo floated the idea, which disappeared amid strong protests.

Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama is apparently a big fan of Fauzi, whom he and his running mate, Jokowi '€“ now president -- defeated in the 2012 election. Ahok is reviving the long-buried plan in an attempt to honor his promise of easing Jakarta'€™s traffic by building a long-overdue mass transit system.

Ahok is turning a deaf ear to people'€™s protest against his trial project, starting with banning motorbikes from a roughly 2-kilometer strip between the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and Jl. Merdeka Barat across from the Presidential Palace next month.

The plan has already been a headache for people who rely on motorbikes to do their business in and across ta prime area notorious for traffic, street demonstrations and flooding during the rainy season.

It'€™s easy to see how the limited parking an few free buses that Ahok has promised for motorcyclists to continue their journeys will only move horrendous traffic to the adjacent areas.

So be prepared for the worse.

'€” Pandu Dewanata