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Govt takes flak over last-minute trucking restrictions
Indef executive director Tauhid Ahmad said the sudden extension of a temporary ban on heavy vehicle usage reflected poor planning in traffic policies for the peak travel season.
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Travelers in their vehicles endure a long traffic jam at Nagrek in Bandung, West Java, on April 24, 2023, as people return to big cities following the Idul Fitri holiday in their respective hometowns. (AFP/Timur Matahari)
T
he government has been slammed by businesses for its last-minute decision to extend a ban on freight transportation to include the working days of this week.
In a bid to ease traffic congestion as millions return to Jakarta following the Idul Fitri holiday, the government had earlier restricted the use of trucks and other heavy vehicles from April 24 to April 25 and from April 29 to May 1, which is when it expected most of the holiday travel to occur.
However, the Transportation Ministry and National Police released a new regulation on Tuesday to also apply the restriction to the days between those two expected peak travel waves.
"We decided to extend the time from Wednesday, April 26 to Friday, April 28. Likewise, there are also adjustments to the restricted toll and non-toll roads," said Land Transportation Director General Hendro Sugiatno on Wednesday, as quoted by Bisnis.
Akbar Djohan, head of logistics and supply chain at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said the extension could inflict losses on businesses, especially exporters. According to Akbar, definitive restriction times should have been communicated to businesspeople a long time ago to provide operational certainty.
"If there is no certainty from the government, [exporters] may be fined [by their business partners], as the plan was not communicated clearly to the buyers. If the government has set the annual calendar in advance, the restriction should be for [these specific] days, so as to provide certainty for transactions," Akbar contended.
Akbar added that the sudden decision could make Indonesian business players appear unprofessional in the eyes of their foreign counterparts and could cost them opportunities for repeat orders. The damage would be particularly severe for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which faced big challenges in seizing export opportunities in the first place, Akbar said.
