TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jakarta to reimpose odd-even plate policy as traffic returns
The Jakarta administration will reimpose the odd-even license plate policy on Monday in an effort to limit unnecessary car travel as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A traffic policeman gives a ticket to a driver for a violation of the odd-even license plate policy in Tomang, West Jakarta, on Sept. 9, 2019. (JP/Narabeto Korohama)
The Jakarta administration will reimpose the odd-even license plate policy on Monday in an effort to limit unnecessary car travel as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on.
Jakarta Transportation Agency head Syafrin Liputo said the odd-even traffic policy aimed to prevent the accumulation of travelers on the road.
“We hope the policy will deter people from making unnecessary trips. For example, [people with] cars with odd-numbered license plates would stay at home. The pattern [of restrictions] is expected to decrease traffic volume and, most importantly, ensure that there will not be an accumulation [of people] in public spaces,” he said on Friday, as reported by kompas.com.
The policy, which was lifted by the administration in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in March, will return to 25 thoroughfares on Monday and will be in place from then on from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Read also: No odd-even policy yet during transition period, Anies says
Syafrin explained that the administration had decided to reimpose the policy because traffic had increased as the city began its transition out of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).
“From our analysis, the traffic volume in some parts of the capital has increased beyond the normal condition before the pandemic,” he said.
The odd-even traffic policy was reimposed because the Jakarta administration had removed the requirement of obtaining an entry and exit permit (SIKM) to travel in or out the capital city during PSBB, Syafrin said.
As the SIKM requirement had been removed, the administration no longer had a means of limiting people’s mobility, so the license plate traffic policy had been reactivated, he explained.
The 25 thoroughfares where the policy will be enforced include Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Jl. MH Thamrin, Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Jl. Jend. S. Parman. Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jl. MT Haryono, Jl. JR Rasuna Said, Jl. Gajah Mada, Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Jl. Panglima Polim, Jl. Tomang Raya, Jl. Pramuka and Jl. Kramat Raya. (dpk)
