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ommuters will have to revise their strategies to get to and from Jakarta during the week as the city administration is set to fully revoke the three-in-one traffic policy next week.

“The regulation had no significant impact in reducing congestion so it will be officially ended next Monday. Roads in the capital will still be congested regardless of the policy,” Transportation Agency head Andri Yansyah said on Tuesday.

The administration had suspended the regulation, in which cars using major thoroughfares like Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, had to carry at least three passengers, since April 14 while it examined what effect, if any, it had on reducing congestion. Along with implementing the suspension, the administration deployed 600 extra Transjakarta buses.

Andri said based on an evaluation conducted by his agency and the Jakarta Police, the main roads were heavily congested whether the three-in-one policy was implemented or not.

He said the public was informed about the revocation of three-in-one on Tuesday so that commuters would be able to find alternative routes while traveling in the capital.

The administration hoped the suspension of the policy and the additional buses would lead commuters to switch from private vehicles to public transportation, particularly city-owned Transjakarta.

However, almost a month since the regulation was lifted, the administration has only seen increases in passenger numbers of 7.38 percent and 13.75 percent, respectively, on Transjakarta corridor 1 and corridor 9 — the two most crowded Transjakarta routes.

Corridor 1 runs from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta, while corridor 9 stretches from Pinang Ranti in East Jakarta to Pluit in North Jakarta.

“In total, the increase of Transjakarta passengers is 6.58 percent. This shows that commuters have yet to switch to public transportation,” Andri acknowledged.

Based on the agency’s data, before the suspension, corridor 1 served 61,959 passengers daily while corridor 9 served 35,595 passengers per day. Corridor 1 and corridor 9 currently serve 66,036 and 40,690 passengers daily.

This is a disappointing return for Transjakarta’s efforts to improve its service.

Transjakarta president director Budi Kaliwono previously revealed the company had deployed 246 buses to shorten arrival times between buses on corridor 1.

Despite the slight increase, the Jakarta administration is upbeat that more commuters will switch to public transportation and it is set to provide even more buses in the capital.

“Seeing an increase in bus passenger numbers, we are planning to add more double-decker buses. We have [a total of] 4,000 buses currently,” said Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Thajaja Purnama recently.

He added that the administration would procure at least 25 double-decker buses.

Meanwhile, commuters in the capital remained skeptical about the administration’s plans as they continued to prefer to opt for the comfort and safety of their private vehicles, despite the expense.

“It’s nice that the administration is now concerned about improving public transportation, particularly Transjakarta. However, I still prefer to use my car,” said employee of a private company Mariska Anastasia Simbolon, who usually commutes to the capital from her house in Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang, Banten.

“I cannot stand squeezing into the bus during rush hour. Using a car is much more comfortable, right?”