Governor Anies Baswedan now has legal justification to lift the motorcycle ban on the capita;s busy thoroughfares of Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta — a plan he has been mulling since November.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court revoked the motorcycle restriction, which was passed by former Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama in 2014 and aimed to reduce congestion and accidents along the perpetually gridlocked stretch of road in the heart of the capital, ruling that the gubernatorial decree had no legal basis.
Armed with the court’s ruling, Anies said his administration will officially lift the motorcycle ban in the near future.
“We’ve always said we want equal opportunity for all. Jakarta does not belong to certain groups, Jakarta belongs to all,” he said, as quoted by Kompas yesterday.
While the motorcycle ban was decried by many as discriminatory towards motorcyclists, the Jakarta Transportation Agency believe it served its purpose effectively.
“Traffic jams were reduced, and there were other positive aspects,” said Jakarta Transportation Agency Deputy Head Sigit Widjatmoko yesterday.
Members of the Jakarta City Council also regret the ruling and imminent lifting of the motorcycle ban.
“The effect is that (the roads) will surely be messy. There are many construction projects going on there, such as the LRT and MRT (rail-based public transportation systems). Furthermore, there’s been a huge increase in motorcycle users in Jakarta,” said Councilor Syarifudin from Commission B of the Jakarta City Council, which handles transportation issues in the capital.
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