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Jakarta urged to create app-based transportation system
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Stay firm -- Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama (right) arrives at the Jakarta Corruption Court to testify as a witness in a graft case related to the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) procurement in Jakarta on Feb.4. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari)
T
he Jakarta Transportation Council (DTKJ) has called on the city administration to create an online application-based ‘smart transportation system’ to simplify the process of choosing transportation for Jakartans.
DTKJ head Ellen Tangkudung said on Tuesday that such a system was crucial to encourage commuters to leave their private vehicles at home and start using public transportation.
It is the inundation of private vehicles that is responsible for the city’s traffic woes, Ellen claimed.
Ellen went on to say that around 3.8 million private cars and 14.5 million motorcycles took to Jakarta’s streets every day, driven by the 18 million people in the city on any given day. She estimated that the number of private vehicles had increased by around 10 to 20 percent following the revocation of the city’s three-in-one traffic policy.
“We suggest the city administration develop its IT system to catch up with what the people need. It is true that Jakarta has had the Smart City system but it still needs to be improved and more widely promoted in the city,” said Ellen.
She said the most important thing was the transport system being able to attract more motorists to use Transjakarta buses.
The system, Ellen said, should include information on the location of bus stations and travel-time information, so commuters could see how long it would take for Transjakarta buses to reach their destination.
Separately, Jakarta Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said that the administration was striving to combat traffic congestion by providing more public buses, not only for Jakartans, but also for residents of Jakarta’s satellite cities, Tangerang, Bogor, Depok, and Bekasi.
He said next year, the administration would increase the Public Service Obligation (PSO) budget for procuring new buses to Rp 3.2 trillion (US$241.78 million). The budget will also be used to pay bus operators under Transjakarta’s management with a rupiah per kilometer scheme.
“This doesn’t mean I want to subsidize those who live outside of Jakarta. I just want to reduce the number of motorcyclists from Greater Jakarta and mitigate traffic congestion,” Ahok said. (ebf)
