When the Jakarta Provincial Government phased out its 3-in-1 traffic rule (due to child endangerment concerns, long story) and replaced it with an odd-even traffic scheme, many were skeptical if it would be effective at actually reducing traffic and promoting public transportation. But following last week’s major expansion of odd-even affected roads and hours (and despite some cheaters) the benefits have quickly becoming apparent.
According to PT Transjakarta Director Budi Kaliwono, the capital’s busway system saw a sharp uptake in users between the start of last week yesterday which he attributed to the enforcement of the expanded odd-even zone.
“The number of Transjakarta customers on Monday, August 6, reached 616,744, up nearly 34,000 from the previous Monday (July 30),” Budi said in a written statement released today picked up by Kompas. That’s about a 5% jump.
Budi noted that number includes not just passengers on the main Transjakarta busway corridors but also those using non-corridor and small bus services integrated into the One Karcis One Trip (OK-OTrip) system.
Police started officially enforcing the expanded odd-even roads on August 1 after a month-long awareness drive. Violators face a maximum IDR500K (US$34)
The odd-even rule — which only allows vehicles with odd-numbered plates to use certain major roads during rush hours on odd calendar dates and vice-versa — was expanded to include more major roads in the capital in a bid to reduce congestion during the upcoming Asian Games, which start of August 18.
This map below, from the Jakarta Transportation Agency, details exactly which roads are now covered by the odd-even rule. The light blue lines represent the roads where the odd-even rule was previously enforced, while the red lines represent the new additions and the blue dotted lines represent suggested alternate routes (be warned: they have reportedly been more jammed than usual).
The biggest expansion stretches all the way from Jalan S. Parman in West Jakarta, through Gatot Subroto, M.T. Haryono, D.I. Panjaitan, Jenderal Ahmad Yani up to Cempaka Putih in Central Jakarta, measuring close to 22km.
The other three points of expansion are: South Jakarta’s Jalan Arteri Pondok Indah — Kebayoran Baru, Jalan H.R. Rasuna Said, and Central Jakarta’s Jalan Benyamin Sueb, Kemayoran.
In addition, under the expansion, the odd-even rule is now be enforced for 15 hours every workday, from 6am to 9pm. This is much longer than the 7am-10am and 4pm-8pm rush hour windows prior to the expansion.
The Jakarta Provincial Government has not decided on whether or not the expansion will still apply after the Asian Games concludes on September 2, but there has been talk that they are considering making it permanent beyond the Games. Even during the trial expansion period, the government claimed that the expansion increased traffic speed in the zones by 12% and improved air quality in the city due to an increase in citizens using public transportation.
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