However, we believe the main catalyst of Jakarta’s traffic problems is the poor state of the city’s public transportation, which forces commuters to drive their own vehicles. Therefore, any traffic restriction policy will be defeated as long as it is not accompanied with serious efforts to improve public transport.

The ERP system, which has been implemented in a number of world cities like Singapore, London, and Stockholm, will replace the existing 3-in-1 system currently imposed on the city’s arterial roads Jl. M.H Thamrin, Jl. Sudirman, and Jl. Gatot Subroto during the morning and afternoon peak hours.

The director of urban transportation systems at the Transportation Ministry, Elly Sinaga, said recently that the 3-in-1 system had failed to remedy traffic congestion chiefly because many motorists circumvent the law by hiring jockeys (people willing to ride the distance of the 3-in-1 areas for a small fee).

City officials are right, the existing system has failed to address the problem. The question is: Why is the administration so optimistic about the ERP system? What is the difference between the 3-in-1 and ERP systems? How will motorists benefit after paying more money under the ERP? As it stands, Jakartan motorists contribute nearly 40 percent of the city’s Rp 24 trillion (US$2.5 billion) budget this year.

We believe that introducing the ERP system alone will not solve the traffic problems. The new policy, whose regulation is being prepared by the Transportation Ministry, should be integrated with efforts to improve public transport.

Without reliable, convenient and affordable public transport, people are forced to drive their vehicles to work. It is regrettable the city has failed to fully take advantage of the Transjakarta busway corridors, which have been developed with taxpayer money.

A shortage of buses along the corridors means the busway is no longer convenient for users. As a result, it fails to encourage motorists to make the shift to public transportation. The failure to develop the planned monorail is another blow to the city’s public transport network.

Therefore, the improvement of the public transport network should be the administration’s first priority when the ERP system is implemented later this year, because it is the only answer to the current chaotic traffic condition. Funds collected from the ERP should be invested in improvements to the public transport.

Based on the Transportation Ministry’s calculations, the ERP tariff will be about Rp 20,000 for a car and Rp 7,000 for a motorcycle. As such, motorists should receive significant benefits for the money they pay: better traffic conditions in the city.

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