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Jakartans brace for Wednesday's start of odd-even policy trial
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An information board announcing the trial of an odd-even license plate number traffic policy beside a street in Central Jakarta on July 25. The Jakarta administration and Jakarta Police will start the month-long trial of the policy on July 27. (Antara/Reno Esnir)
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akartans are preparing themselves for a month-long trial of odd-even license plate traffic rules that start Wednesday, with which the Jakarta administration replaced a three-in-one passenger policy that was its earlier effort to reduce congestion in the city.
Itin Agustina, a clothing store owner, said she is considering three options to help her go about the city during the time set for the policy trial. Lucky for her, she owns two cars, one of which has an odd-numbered plate and the other of which has an even-numbered one, which would allow her to use the main roads every day. Still, she was also thinking of using other means of transportation from her home in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, to her store in Thamrin City in Central Jakarta.
"I might go to my store by ordering Gojek," she told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Tuesday, referring to a popular motorcycle taxi-hailing application.
The odd-even traffic policy will be on trial from Wednesday until Aug. 26. It will require cars to take turns using the capital's thoroughfares during the busiest hours from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The routes will use the three-in-one (minimum passenger) routes that were officially scrapped in May, such as Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin.
The new policy would allow cars with plate numbers ending in an odd number to use the streets on odd dates, while cars with even-number-ending plates can use them on even dates. Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama chose the option after officially scrapping the decade-long three-in-one policy, which required cars to have at least three passengers, in May in a bid to reduce traffic congestion until the city officially implements electronic road pricing, maybe next year. (rin)
