Well, it looks like the Jakarta Provincial Government has finally made up its mind about the fate of the controversial 3-in-1 carpooling scheme.
After previously announcing that 3-in-1 would return for afternoon rush hours following the end of its trial removal, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama yesterday announced that the 3-in-1 would be gone entirely as of May 16.
And considering that the trial removal ends on May 14 and the two days after that make up the weekend, we can effectively say goodbye to the 3-in-1 now.
Ahok said that, based on the Jakarta Transportation Agency’s evaluation of the test removal, there wasn’t much difference in volume of vehicles entering 3-in-1 zones with or without it.
“3-in-1 is gone for sure. Now we have to see [if 3-in-1 will be replaced by] ERP (electronic road pricing) or the odd-even traffic scheme,” Ahok said at City Hall yesterday, as quoted by Merdeka.
Ahok previously suggested that the odd-even traffic scheme, in which cars with license plates that end in odd or even numbers could only be used on major roads on alternating days, would be a viable alternative to 3-in-1 while the ERP system was being prepared. Experts say it would take at least 1.5 years to implement ERP due to bureaucratic obstacles.
Jakarta Transportation Agency Head Andri Yansyah, while confirming the permanent removal of 3-in-1, said that they will speed up the implementation of ERP on Jakarta’s major roads.
“Maybe it’ll take a while, [it might be implemented] by 2017,” he said, as quoted by Kompas yesterday.
“Now the process for the gubernatorial decree [for ERP] is in the Law Bureau. We’re pushing for it to be processed quicker.”
We think it’s unlikely that either ERP or the odd-even scheme can be implemented in just a few days. Expect to see free-for-all traffic on former 3-in-1 zones for a while until an alternative is implemented.
