T

he ban on motorcycles along thoroughfares Jl. MH Thamrin and Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta is yet another controversial policy introduced by the Jakarta administration to address the traffic chaos facing the city.

The traffic-restriction policy is designed to reduce the number of road accidents. According to police data, most traffic accidents involve motorcycles, which makes sense given that they account for 75 percent of the total 16 million motorized vehicles operating in the city.

The ban began its one-month trial on Wednesday, and if it is deemed successful, it will be expanded to Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Gatot Subroto and Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta, according to Jakarta Transportation Agency head Muhammad Akbar. The question, therefore, is why the ban has only been implemented in certain parts of Jakarta, when traffic accidents involving motorcycles happen across the city.

From the perspective of public policy, the ban is undoubtedly discriminatory and hinges on the misperception that motorcycles are behind most traffic headaches, although the government claims the policy is aimed at protecting the lives of motorcycle riders. Private cars, the real cause of traffic gridlock, can still use the thoroughfares, although not between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. on weekdays (unless they are carrying at least three people) or on Sundays between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m.

For those who have lived in the city for more than 30 years, the latest initiative to deal with Jakarta'€™s traffic problems is reminiscent of the citywide ban on becak (pedicabs) '€” in the late 1980s because the human-driven mode of transportation was seen to hamper traffic flow.

The motorcycle ban has created new problems, ranging from congestion on nearby roads because of mushrooming illegal motorcycle parking areas to disrupted delivery services, as about 15,000 couriers now have no access to the thoroughfares where many of their customers'€™ offices are located.

To counter these problems, the administration has provided 15 buses plying the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle-Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat-Harmoni route between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. to transport motorcycle riders for free. Twelve buildings have also been allocated for motorcycle parking. But, at least so far, the facilities have not helped much.

In the past, the city administration has proposed several traffic-restriction schemes, including license plate-based restrictions, high parking fees and electronic road pricing (ERP), but the plans were dropped at the last minute because of inadequate preparation.

The motorcycle ban is a rehash of past partial traffic-restriction policies. It will not offer a remedy to traffic problems, while public transportation will.

The 2014 city budget has allocated funds to buy 1,000 buses to strengthen the Transjakarta fleet and 3,000 medium-sized buses to operate as feeders. Regrettably, the program has been suspended in light of a graft case involving bus procurement. The bus-procurement program must therefore resume next year.

If the city can provide reliable public transportation, perhaps traffic restriction policies will become unnecessary.