T

he odd-even license plate traffic policy, which has been enforced on major thoroughfares since prior to the 2018 Asian Games, has been deemed successful in easing Jakarta’s nightmarish traffic.

The Jakarta Transportation Agency recorded that vehicle speeds under the odd-even policy increased by 44 percent and CO2 emissions in the city’s air decreased by 20.3 percent.

The odd-even traffic policy stipulates that cars with a license plates ending in an odd number are only allowed to travel in certain zones on odd-numbered dates, while those with even plate numbers are only allowed to travel on even-numbered dates.

Commuter Dwi Muchtar said the odd-even license plate traffic policy had made his journey much easier because Transjakarta buses arrived at shelters relatively on time.

“I used to spend 30 minutes simply waiting for the next bus,” Dwi said.

“Although Transjakarta has its own bus lane, private cars often breach the designated lane, but now the traffic moves faster,” said the employee of a private firm, who is a regular user of the Transjakarta bus service that takes him from his home in Pramuka to Monas, both in Central Jakarta.

According to the city-owned bus operator, when the policy was enforced, especially during the Asian Games, Transjakarta served the most passengers ever — reaching 721,000 people a day compared to the usual 500,000 passengers daily. Currently Transjakarta records 600,000 passengers on average daily.

Another commuter Yancen Piris said that previously he preferred to leave his car at home since he did not want to waste hours stuck in traffic.

“Lately, I’ve started using my car to go to work on odd-numbered dates. On the other days, I take a motorcycle or Transjakarta bus,” he said.

Yan said it took him 30 minutes faster to commute by car from his house in Depok, West Java, to his office in Cawang, East Jakarta.

Both Dwi and Yan hoped that the policy would be continued. Although the policy is only implemented on several major roads, the impact can be felt in other parts throughout the city.

Jakarta Police traffic unit’s law enforcement chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Budiyanto also supported the idea of making the odd-even policy a permanent measure for the city’s traffic.

“I think, in the future, we can implement the policy on a regional basis, in many more areas across the city, not only on some thoroughfares,” he said.

Greater Jakarta Transportation Body (BPTJ) head Bambang Prihartono said that Jakarta residents were now used to the policy, discontinuing it would be a setback and create even worse traffic problems.

“The BPTJ regards this as a successful measure. So successful that it is currently also being implemented in Denpasar [Bali],” he said.

Despite the positive sentiment, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan implied that it might not be the best policy for solving the city’s traffic in the long run.

“I heard from used car dealers that their sales have increased by 15 percent [since the odd-even policy came in force],” Anies told journalist at City Hall on Thursday.

The figure attracted his attention, Anies said, as he expected the policy would encourage people to use public transportation, not to buy more cars.

“I prefer to focus on improving public transportation. [...] Sooner or later, the odd-even policy will create a new equilibrium in which people buy more cars or reroute their daily commute,” Anies said.

Jakarta Transportation Agency acting head Sigit Widjatmoko shared similar thoughts with Anies. In a discussion held on Wednesday, Sigit said the city should start taking other measure to address the traffic problems, one of which was implementing electronic road pricing (ERP).

“We aim to start implementing the ERP once the mass rapid transit [MRT] train operates [in March 2019],” he said.

The odd-even license plate number policy was first implemented in 2016 to replace the three-in-one traffic policy on Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Transportation Agency at that time agreed that the odd-even was a transition policy prior to the implementation of the ERP.

On July 31, Anies signed Gubernatorial Regulation No. 77/2018 on the implementation of the odd-even traffic policy on several thoroughfares during the Asian Games, after a trial run starting July 2.

The policy is in effect on Jl. Sudirman, Jl. MH Thamrin, Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jl. S Parman, Jl. MT Haryono, Jl. HR Rasuna Said, Jl. DI Pandjaitan, Jl. Ahmad Yani and Jl. Kartini.

Prior to the Asian Para Games, which started on Oct. 6, the city administration made several adjustments to the odd-even license plate policy. The policy only applies from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Monday to Friday and will end on Oct. 13 when the Para Games conclude.