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Jakarta Post

ERP to kick off this year: Ahok

After two years of planning, the city administration will expedite the implementation of the long-awaited electronic road pricing (ERP) system — expected to be applied this year

Sita W. Dewi (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Tue, February 17, 2015

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ERP to kick off this year: Ahok

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fter two years of planning, the city administration will expedite the implementation of the long-awaited electronic road pricing (ERP) system '€” expected to be applied this year.

Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said on Monday that he had called on relevant officials to expedite the bidding process, so it would be ready to be announced by next month.

'€œI have called on relevant units to prepare it because I want the ERP to be implemented by the end of this year at the very latest,'€ he said at City Hall.

He pointed out that the capital'€™s thoroughfares '€” Jl. MH Thamrin'€“Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta and Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta '€” would become the sites of the pilot project.

Ahok refused to name companies that would likely join the tender process, but the governor said he welcomed companies that had been involved in the ERP trial to join the bidding.

Road technology companies, namely Kapsch from Sweden and Q-Free from Norway, have been involved in ERP trials in the capital'€™s thoroughfares since last year.

'€œThe evaluation shows good result: the equipment was 95 percent to 98 percent accurate,'€ Ahok said.

He also invited other companies to participate in the tender process.

'€œWe of course trust [both] companies because we have worked together with them in the trial. But other companies can join too. We prefer companies which have operated in many countries,'€ he said.

To support the project implementation, Ahok has established an ERP management unit called BLUD ERP under the aegis of the Jakarta Transportation Agency.

'€œThis is about tax revenues. We have not yet drafted the bylaw, but we already have established the BLUD ERP,'€ Ahok said.

BLUD ERP head Leo Amstrong acknowledged that Kapsch and Q-Free had a good chance of winning the tender as a result of their established reputation and their display of experience during the trial period.

'€œThe evaluation was positive. Of course we will suggest they join the bidding process, but [all companies] who want to join are welcome,'€ he said.

Despite the governor'€™s instruction to immediately being the tender process, Leo said the process might take longer than the governor wants as they needed to make a number of preparations.

'€œThe governor called on us to open the tender within the next two months. But we still have to be careful,'€ he said.

Jakarta Transportation Agency Benjamin Bukit shared the sentiment, saying that there were a number of steps that should be taken before commencing the tender process.

'€œAfter Pak Ahok left [the meeting], we continued the discussion and concluded that we had to do several things, including holding workshops,'€ he said.

He said the workshops were necessary to formulate a set of regulations to apply the ERP.

'€œThe target of beginning the tender within the next two months is a bit unreasonable, but it will be done this year for sure,'€ he said.

Benjamin said he had consulted with the City Inspectorate General, Lasro Marbun, and agreed that they would have to establish a small-scale team to carry out the workshops.

'€œAccording to Pak Lasro, the workshops may need three to four months. After the workshops are finalized, we can prepare the tender documents,'€ he said.

The ERP was among the city administration'€™s programs to limit private vehicles in the capital. Academic studies on ERP have been made since 2006. However, the plan to implement ERP has been stalled by a number of excuses, including legal issues, technology and the lack of decent public transportation.

The ERP is aimed at replacing the existing three-in-one system, which requires at least three people in a car along some roads in Jakarta during the morning and evening rush hours on weekdays.

Data from Jakarta Police'€™s traffic directorate show that as of 2011, there were more than 13 million motorized vehicles in Greater Jakarta '€” comprising more than 9.8 million motorcycles, about 2.5 million passenger cars, 581,290 trucks and 363,710 buses.

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