The Transjakarta busway system is getting better all the time, with new routes being added all the time and a huge number of new buses set to be added to the fleet this year. More passengers are choosing to use the Transjakarta than ever, but one of the major obstacles to the busway system working optimally is the large number of private vehicles that still sneak into the busway lanes to try and escape the macet (over 1,000 vehicles were caught illegally entering busway lanes during one three-day crackdown last year).
Despite the increasingly heavy fines for entering the busway, Jakarta drivers are still willing to take the risk due to the low risk of the police actually catching them in the act as their ability to monitor such violations is still woefully inadequate.
PT Transportation Jakarta, the state-owned company in charge of the Transjakarta, has decided to try a new tactic to keep the busway lanes clear – recruiting ‘Pak Ogah’.
Pak Ogah, also known as ‘polisi cepek’, are the guys (they’re almost always guys, though you do see the rare Mbak Ogah every once in awhile) who stand at intersections and u-turns in order to help drivers make turns in exchange for small tips. They can be seen at nearly every busy intersection in Jakarta and now the government wants to use them to help keep the busway lanes clear.
“Because they are the most knowledgeable about these areas,” said Daud Joseph, director of operations for PT Transjakarta on Wednesday as quoted by Tempo.
Daud said that the problem of private vehicles entering the busway lanes was a cultural problem as much as one of enforcement. He said that employing the omnipresent Pak Ogah could help change the capital’s driving culture.
According to Daud, the ‘polisi cepek’ will work together with the actual Jakarta Police and the Jakarta Transportation Agency to help catch and prevent drivers going into busway lanes. He did not explain how the government would work with the informal traffic managers, or how they would be paid for their services.
He did say that the plan would drastically increase the number of people monitoring the busway lanes, which currently stands at around 360 monitors.
He also said that they were working on employing automatic boom gates that would only open for buses and other authorized vehicles that has a RFID chip installed to signal the gates to open.
