Dear Governor,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but things are getting worse. I know you are trying to make things better, but frankly it'€™s not working, traffic-wise or airport-wise or indeed work permit-wise. But that'€™s another story. Today I am only talking traffic.

I had a look at the size of the mass transit networks in Singapore, KL and London to get an idea of what'€™s really needed here and I'€™m afraid your planned network is too small. Actually it'€™s about 5 percent of what will be needed by 2035, in 20 years'€™ time. So please, can you start on the other 95 percent of the system or you will never catch up!

In the meantime, the construction of the MRT is seriously disrupting traffic, and I mean seriously. You can'€™t take three lanes down to one and expect anything but chaos.

But it gets even more frustrating when you look behind the hoardings to see no one working there. Please at least put maximum effort into finishing the project as quickly as possible. You have the money, make it 24/7 schedules, please!

 I live in the south, as do approximately 50 percent of the commuters who come in to the city to work every day. We come up streets so crowded that what was a 15-minute journey five years ago is 60-minute one today and getting worse.

The reasons are many, but a lot of them are caused by simply illegal driving that could be eliminated by a vigilant task force on the ground.  One example of this is at the south end of Jl. Cilandak KKO where 50 motorcycles per minute do a completely illegal right turn and block the thousands of cars coming down Jl. Mohamad Kafi.

One policeman standing there could reduce the journey time of 20,000 to 30,000 people a day by 30 minutes. That'€™s a massive 15,000 hours of extra work time every day and 15,000 hours less pollution.

Every building has its own security men with yellow jackets and red light sticks. They are somehow allowed to stop whole streets of traffic to allow one car to cross the road into their building. This has to stop too. All buildings should be entered only from the same side of the road. Inconvenient? Yes, for one car, but happiness for 100.

There are so many examples of simple things like this that could save time, money, frustration and pollution, if you look for them. One more example: on Sundays, the whole Grand Indonesia traffic flow comes to a grinding halt, with traffic inching for an hour between the two buildings. Why? Because it'€™s blocked by cars going in at their own BCA entrance! Total insanity. Totally curable by people with initiative and eyes!

Please hire those people Mr. Governor, make life just a little better for millions of people.

Thank you in advance.

Alistair G. Speirs
Jakarta

Popular

Kadin urges stability after Constitutional Court ruling

Jokowi says transition to new government to begi

BCA loan disbursement surges 17.1 percent yoy in first quarter