Evi Mariani, Jakarta – Three years have passed since the launch of the Transjakarta busway, but Sutiyoso's dream to see Jakartans switch from private cars to public transportation is still just that, a survey says.
The survey indicates the Transjakarta busway is more popular among Jakartans in the low-middle income bracket, who previously relied on non-air-conditioned (non-AC) buses and minibuses, than among wealthy car owners.
From 1421 respondents in a May survey this year, a majority 42.7 percent said they had taken non-AC buses and minibuses prior to switching to the busway. Another 22.3 percent said they usually chose public minivans and 14.2 percent AC buses. Only 5.8 percent said they had used private cars before the introduction of the busway.
Protests from South Jakarta's Pondok Indah residents, and more recently, Pluit residents in North Jakarta, have confirmed the unpopularity of the busway among private car owners.
Furthermore, data from the Jakarta Police indicates that after a plunge in car ownership in the wake of a fuel price rise in Oct. 2005, the number has steadily increased.
An average of 9,215 cars were registered monthly with the police in 2005; the number plunged to 5,231 cars a month in 2006. This year, however, the trend shows a steady climb with an average of 5,728 cars a month.
"Last year I bought a car. For me, traveling by car is still more efficient and much more comfortable," said Marlina, a food and beverage company employee.
Marlina said the route from her home, near Sudirman, to her workplace in Pulo Gadung, was actually covered by the Transjakarta corridors. However, after trying the busway she decided she would not take Transjakarta to work.
"I tried the busway on a Sunday, when the traffic was less congested. It took me about an hour (to get from) Sarinah to Kelapa Gading. Waiting at the interchange station at Harmoni was also time-consuming and unpleasant. It was crowded and the station was too small," she said.
Is it time for the city to throw in the towel?
Many urban experts still believe in improving public transportation to further develop the metropolitan area. Examples from abroad show that most global cities have efficient and reliable modes of public transportation.
On the other hand, critics have raised concerns about Transjakarta's countless problems, from glitches to poor design and management.
A lecturer at the University of Indonesia's School of Architecture, Teguh Utomo Atmoko, said the design of Transjakarta busway corridors failed to include adequate pedestrian facilities.
"The condition of the city's sidewalks is abysmal. It is evidence Jakarta's transportation system only serves to move people from one point to another, not from their place of origin to their final destination," Teguh said.
He said in order to develop an effective system, the city needed to discuss the busway design with other agencies, not only the transportation agency.
Pedestrian facilities have indeed been forgotten in the Transjakarta design. Many existing busway stops do not have adequate pedestrian facilities – the construction of the new busway corridor in North Jakarta is even removing the existing sidewalks.
In the meantime, the plan to build a monorail has been hampered by financial problems. Furthermore, there is no plan to build a new system connecting Tangerang, Depok and Bekasi with Jakarta.
Governor Sutiyoso, the initiator, is still optimistic about the transportation plan, which he calls "his dream".
"The existing busway is the seed. It will grow and there will be more busway corridors and a monorail added by 2012. Then, we can begin telling people to switch from cars to public transportation," he told The Jakarta Post.
In spite of many problems, it seems that Jakarta should hold on to the towel and continue fighting.