T

he implementation of the much-awaited electronic road pricing (ERP) system, an electronic toll system, which will impose fees on vehicles that pass certain roads during certain times to reduce crippling traffic congestion in the capital, has been postponed until 2019.

Jakarta Transportation Agency deputy head Sigit Wijatmoko recently said that the implementation of the ERP system, initially expected to start next year, had to be postponed as the city administration had to start the project’s tender process all over again due to regulatory changes.

In March this year, former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama issued gubernatorial regulation (Pergub) No. 25/2017 on the ERP system to replace Pergub No. 149/2016 as the latter was considered problematic.

It was stipulated in Article 8 of Pergub No. 149/2016 that the ERP system must use dedicated short range communication (DSRC) technology with a frequency of 5.8 gigahertz.

The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) argued the DSRC technology usage violated Law No. 5/1999 on the prohibition of monopolistic practices and unfair business competition.

Therefore, Ahok decided to revise the regulation. In the new Pergub, it is stipulated that the ERP system must use technology that has been certified by the Communications and Information Ministry. In addition, the new regulation also stipulates that the Jakarta Transportation Agency has the right to decide the specification of equipment used in the system.

Sigit said his agency was currently working with the University of Indonesia’s Computer Science Center (Pusilkom UI) in Senen, Central Jakarta, and Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta to decide which kind of equipment was needed in the system.

Regarding the tender process, Sigit said his agency would restart the process from the very beginning. “Hopefully by the end of this year, we have named the winner of the tender process. In 2019, the ERP system has to be in full operation,” he added.

Speaking after his inauguration on Thursday, Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat said the administration would hold the tender for the ERP project before his term ended in October.

“We are currently building flyovers and the mass rapid transit [MRT], I am sorry that the congestion has worsened in some locations, but it is better than facing worse traffic in the next 2-3 years and do not forget, we will hold a bid for ERP soon,” he said at City Hall in Central Jakarta.

Deputy governor-elect Sandiaga Uno said he would ensure the continuation of the ERP project by including the program in the next administration.

“We will continue it. If there are difficulties working with the private sector, then the administration will handle the project,” he said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com.

In August last year, the administration kicked off the tender process for the system after four years being left in limbo. As many as 68 companies competed to win the rights to procure infrastructure for the project. The process that was expected to be completed in August this year had to be canceled.

The ERP system was initiated in 2006 to replace the three-in-one scheme enacted in 1994 that had proven to be ineffective at easing traffic congestion. Motorists could cheat the system by paying people known as jockeys to increase the number of passengers in their cars.

Therefore, in August last year, the administration replaced the three-in-one scheme with odd-even license plate policy imposed on the capital’s main thoroughfares in Central and South Jakarta, which are Jl. Sudirman, Jl. MH Thamrin, Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Jl. Gatot Subroto and Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, until the city implemented the ERP system.

Like the three-in-one regulation, the odd-even policy was deemed ineffective in tackling traffic congestion as thousands of drivers violated it during the first half year of the policy’s implementation.