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Consumer groups slams odd-even license plate policy
The planned odd-even license plate scheme to alleviate congestion on Jakarta thoroughfares has been lambasted as a setback by the Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI).
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Vehicles stuck in traffic on Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta on Monday. The Jakarta administration will commence a month-long trial of the odd-even license plate policy next month, before fully implementing it in August in a bid to ease worsening congestion. (Antara/Aprilio Akbar)
T
he Jakarta administration's decision to implement an odd-even license plate scheme on the capital's thoroughfares has been lambasted as a setback by the Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI).
The odd-even license plate policy, set to be trialed next month, faces obstacles in supervision, YLKI Chaiman Tulus Abadi said on Tuesday, adding that weak monitoring could encourage bribing of police officers.
The policy could also give rise to a rogue business of falsifying license plate numbers, especially by people with more than one car, Tulus added.
"The implementation of the policy could also reduce economic growth from a macroeconomic [perspective], as it could obstruct people's mobility," he was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency.
The city decided to switch to the odd-even policy to replace the three-in-one policy that was abandoned in May over a lack of effectiveness. The three-in-one policy allowed only cars carrying at least three people to pass certain major roads, but was frequently skirted by drivers picking up for-hire passengers on the roadside.
YLKI slammed the city administration for the new policy, claiming it only showed that the city was doubtful about its plans to tackle traffic congestion in the capital, especially given that the odd-even policy lacked a strong legal basis.
Tulus suggested that the city administration instead kick off the planned Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system, which would be more effective in tackling traffic woes, as it had supporting regulations both from the central government and city administration.
"Three-in-one must be replaced with a stronger traffic management system, which is ERP. Don’t even start with an odd-even license plate policy, which is an outdated system," he said.
The Jakarta Transportation Agency planned to trial the odd-even traffic policy from July 27 to August 26 before fully implementing it in August, the office's traffic engineering division head Priyanto said, as reported by beritajakarta.com.
The policy aims to alleviate congestion and push citizens to use public transportation. It is set to be implemented at nine intersections with 15 monitoring spots on Jakarta thoroughfares until an ERP system becomes fully operational in 2017.
Jakarta sees a 12 percent increase in motor vehicles each year, with 4,000 new motorcycles and 1,600 cars registered in the capital every day, according to data released by the Jakarta traffic police in January. (rin)
