When it was first implement in 2016, Jakarta’s odd-even traffic rule was meant to be a stop gap solution to the capital’s terrible traffic, replacing the canceled 3-in-1 temporarily until better solutions like Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) could be implemented. But with the ERP still nowhere in sight, it looks like the odd-even will be sticking around for the foreseeable future.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan recently signed an extension to the gubernatorial regulation he passed last year concerning the odd-even system, giving the traffic policy a legal basis through the rest of 2019. The extension does not affect any of the specifics about the regulation.
“All things remain the same as they are now. There are no changes in rules in terms of routes and in terms of time,” Anies said yesterday as quoted by Kompas.
In addition, Anies ordered his staff to install permanent signs to better raise awareness about the regulation, saying that many Jakartans were still unclear about its specifics and its enforcement area as evidenced by the numerous arguments they get into with police officers who pull them over for violating it.
The current odd-even rule is essentially a more limited version of the expanded coverage area which came into effect in August for the Asian Games and the Asian Para Games to clear major roads of gridlock.
The expanded rule was enforced daily from 6 am to 9 pm (including weekends) for the duration of the Asian Games, after which it was changed to exclude weekends and Jalan Arteri Pondok Indah in South Jakarta in the lead up to and during the Asian Para Games.
Now, with the latest update, the rule will be enforced every work day during the rush hours of 6 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 8 pm.
This infographic by the Ministry of Transportation lists the major roads included in the current odd-even rule, in which Jalan Arteri Pondok Indah has once again been excluded along with Jalan Benyamin Sueb in Kemayoran, North Jakarta.
The Jakarta administration and police both agreed to extend the expanded odd-even rule beyond the two major sporting events as they found that it decreased travel times, carbon emissions, as well as encouraged more people to use public transportation.
The odd-even rule only allows vehicles with odd-numbered plates to use certain major roads during rush hours on odd calendar dates and vice-versa. Violators of the rule are subject to a IDR500K (US$32.80) fine.
