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rom January to August, the Jakarta administration earned Rp 3.1 billion (US$217,963) in fines from motorists who violated traffic regulations.

Transportation Agency head Andri Yansyah said that as of August, the city had towed away 5,901 cars and 827 motorcycles, and had also removed tire valve stems from 9,362 cars and 14,629 motorcycles.

'€œOur agency has received Rp 3.1 billion from fining drivers. We hope that this kind of punishment will deter drivers from violating traffic regulations,'€ Andri said at City Hall on Thursday. He encouraged residents to report any violations by drivers through the Qlue smartphone application. Qlue is a crowd-sourcing smartphone application in which users can report issues ranging from floods to crimes, fires or waste problems. City officials then respond through the CROP (quick response to public opinion) Jakarta smartphone application.

Last September, the city administration began implementing a new policy of towing illegally parked vehicles to a nearby empty lot. Car owners must pay Rp 500,000 for each night their vehicle stays in the lot.

Further, Andri said, the agency had also fined 13,714 minibus and minivan drivers and revoked the operating licenses of 1,500 minivans and minibuses for violations such as blocking traffic by waiting for passengers and using dedicated Transjakarta lanes.