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Govt encourages walking to curb air pollution
Severe air pollution in the city, believed to largely come from vehicle emissions, has led the government to turn to a healthy push by encouraging people to walk more and switch from using privately owned vehicles to public transportation
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span>Severe air pollution in the city, believed to largely come from vehicle emissions, has led the government to turn to a healthy push by encouraging people to walk more and switch from using privately owned vehicles to public transportation.
Many are still reluctant, however, to use public transportation because of poor end-to-end infrastructure.
The Greater Jakarta Transportation Agency (BPTJ) has teamed up with the Health Ministry to promote health aspects of sustainable transportation.
“The easiest ways to curb air pollution is walking and [using] public transportation, which are part of sustainable transportation,” BPTJ head Bambang Prihartono said during a discussion in Central Jakarta recently.
Sustainable transportation is one of the pillars outlined in the Greater Jakarta Transportation Master Plan, he cited.
A 2018 study for Greater Jakarta Urban Transportation Policy Integration (JUTPI) recorded 88 million trips a day in Greater Jakarta, a surge from 45 million in 2010.
Only 8 percent of the number were people using public transportation to travel to their work places. The figure is far below the 60 percent of commuters that are expected to use public transportation regularly by 2029.
Moreover, most Indonesians only walk 3,500 steps a day despite medical research recommending 6,000 steps a day at a minimum, Bambang cited.
The Health Ministry’s occupational health and sports division director, Kartini Rustandi, said on the same occasion that people working in the capital badly need to change their commuting behavior.
“Useful physical activities should be done with medium intensity four or five times a week with a minimum of 30 minutes a day for an adult,” she said.
“We can do [physical activity] while going to use public transportation services.”
The 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas), the first update since the 2013 survey, shows that 21.8 percent of Indonesian citizens suffer from obesity, 6 percent higher compared to 2013.
The study also shows that 33.5 percent do not do enough physical activity. The number has increased 7.4 percent in five years.
The ministry is now cooperating with more than 17 government’s institutions on the People’s Healthy Lifestyle Movement (Germas), aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle.
“The challenge [of the program] is we [the public] have yet to discipline ourselves to do beneficial things, especially related to personal health,” Kartini said.
To help promote the issue, the BPTJ had conducted a campaign called Jalan Hijau (Green Walk), which commenced on Aug. 19 in Jakarta, Depok, and Bekasi in West Java.
“We want to convey messages on the benefits of using public transportation and moving on foot,” BPTJ spokesperson Budi Rahardjo said.
The agency also seeks to gather feedback of up to 1,000 commuters and pedestrians during the campaign in an attempt to accelerate the actualization of sustainable transportation.
The latest Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), issued in March by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, shows that Jakartans can expect to cut 2.3 years off their life expectancy if 2016 pollution levels are sustained over their lifetime.
Indonesia has repeatedly placed top as the world’s most polluted city based on real-time air quality monitor AirVisual.
Responding to the study, Kartini emphasized that all stakeholders must join hands in tackling the perpetual problem.
