I have been in Jakarta since 1950. This means I have now lived almost 60 years in this city.

Before, there were no traffic jams at all. I used to ride my bike or go by tram (electrical train) or bus from my parent’s house at Polonia to my school on Jl. Budi Utomo, near Lapangan Banteng, Central Jakarta, 10 kilometers away. I usually left home at around 7 a.m. and reached school 5 minutes before my first class.

Cycling home with my friends, we talked about the lessons. Otherwise I went home by bus or tram.

We often took a break at Lapangan Banteng after gymnastics or playing football. Then, it was a clean, wide, grassy field surrounded by trees.

It was nice and the air was fresh.

It never took me more than 40 minutes to reach home. The words “traffic jam” did not exist.

Now, many of the trees are gone The fresh air is gone too, and the streets are no longer pleasant.

Now only the cars are comfortable, shielding us from the noise and pollution while we sit in the back, reading something before a meeting.

Or we sleep until the driver tells us, “We’re here, sir.”  It’s nice, isn’t it?

It might be, for some residents, but not for the majority of Jakartans.

These personal creature comforts inconvenience a great number of people. The number of vehicles far exceeds the capacity of the roads.

Of the 6 million vehicles on the road in 2008, 98 percent were passenger vehicles.  

Adding to the problem are the vendors seizing every inch of sidewalk and spilling out onto the tarmac.

Looking at the total number of vehicles and the capacity of the roads, I become worried.

Traffic conditions in Jakarta can only deteriorate.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if the government could only implement sophisticated infrastructure technology to ease the city’s problems.

In addition to these plans, the administration should stop being a multi-function city, serving as
both the country’s capital and business hub.

Each function generates its own traffic. It’s difficult to imagine how Jakarta can function well in both capacities given the current infrastructure. The consequence is that there are too many key points in the city where traffic builds up and creates congestion that is difficult to manage.

I know it is not easy to find a remedy to the city’s problems.

But should we remain complacent or should we prepare ourselves to do something? I am sure that most of us would not want to see our beloved city gridlocked.

In my humble opinion, we need to exorcise the main causes of congestion outside the city.

This has been done before, when the University of Indonesia’s main campus was moved from Salemba, Central Jakarta to Depok, West Java, and when Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was built in Tangerang to serve international flights, replacing Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

There are many similar actions we can take, and not just regionally, or in Greater Jakarta but also throughout Java and the other islands, which can only benefit from the decentralization of our beloved capital city.

Only then can we save Jakarta from its traffic woes.

Jakarta can still serve as our business capital, but it must not be the administrative capital. Let another place claim this title. Far, far away from Jakarta. Dedicate one city with the task of being the center of administration. No pollution, no traffic jams and enough open spaces for the trees. With green everywhere, we could go to the office by bike.

It is now 8.00 a.m. I have to go to work. Doing something is better than dreaming.

—Samiono Soetrasno

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