Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – An attempt to turn the city's main thoroughfares of Jl Jend. Sudirman and Jl MH Thamrin into a car-free zone degenerated into a farce Saturday, with poor coordination resulting in traffic jams and many cars entering the closed-off streets.

The City Environmental Management Board (BPLHD), the organizer of No Car Day, blamed poor communication between police and the Jakarta transportation agency for the day's failure, and said it was reconsidering plans to hold a similar day in October. "Private cars are still using the slow lanes of the closed-off roads. It's out of our control," BPLHD head Budirama Natakusumah said.

The planned No-Car Day was to see only public transport, bicycles and pedestrians allowed on the main roads from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. While the event was aimed at reducing the influx of cars into the city, motorists simply took alternative roads, leading to congestion across the city.

Governor Sutiyoso and Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo launched the event in the morning, arriving – without a hint of irony – in their official cars at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

In his speech, Sutiyoso said the increasing use of private cars worsened air quality in the capital.

"Air quality in Jakarta has been declining year by year due to a massive rise (in the use of) private vehicles, which have reached five million units with annual growth of 11 percent a year," he said. "I appreciate those who have left their cars at home and used public transport during this No Car Day."

Between 2001 and 2005, Jakarta experienced an average of less than 11 clean air days a year. In 2006, there were 45 clean air days, while there have been 54 so far this year.

The Bike To Work community, a group that aims to encourage the use of bicycles, awarded Sutiyoso a bicycle at the event. "I will cycle out of City Hall after finishing my term (as governor) on Oct. 7," Sutiyoso said. Sutiyoso also received an Indonesian Records Museum (MURI) award for the mass emissions testing of private cars passing through the area.

But as with everything else at Saturday's event, the tests failed to match expectations. Only 354 private cars were tested throughout the day, far lower than the target of 1,000 cars.

Last year, Sutiyoso won the Asian Air Quality Champion award for his role in cleaning up the city's air as well as other awards from local nonprofit groups for his administration's ban on smoking in public places.

All the policies are in line with the administration's 2005 air pollution control bylaw. The bylaw also stipulates that each of Jakarta's five municipalities hold its own No Car Day once a month, which the administration says will be put into effect following Idul Fitri.

Sutiyoso said he has ordered his staff to assess if the car-free day had negatively affected business in the capital.

A police officer managing traffic at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle was skeptical of the day's efforts, saying closing off the two street would cause gridlock and worsen air pollution. "It is impossible to totally close the streets," the officer said.

Environmental campaigners complained that poor preparation and a lack of coordination had hampered the implementation of No Car Day. "It's still a half-hearted effort to clean the city's air," Joint Committee for Leaded Gasoline Phase-Out chairman Ahmad Safrudin said.