Jakarta – Like Londoners talking about the weather, Jakartans have made traffic jams a common topic of discussion. And the traffic jams that have people in the city really talking are those caused by the construction of new busway lanes on several busy roads.

Jakarta's radio stations are inundated with song requests from trapped motorists. Most of the requests are accompanied by diatribes against the traffic and the busway.

Commuter Soca Simanjuntak, 36, says he is now spending an extra 90 minutes in traffic each day because of the traffic. "It used to take me an hour to drive from Kemang Pratama, Bekasi, to my office in Mampang, South Jakarta. Now it's two-and-a-half hours," he told The Jakarta Post.

Civil servant Fanny Perdhana has to spend twice as long getting home at night from his office. It used to take him only 10 minutes, but now he is spending 20 minutes in the traffic.

"I see the traffic in front of Wisma Bidakara near Tebet, South Jakarta, is getting worse. There used to be two lanes there, but now one lane is being used for the busway corridor," he said.

Gary Pati Prasetya, who drives through Cililitan in East Jakarta every day, said since the administration started the construction of a busway corridor there, the traffic has become chaotic. "People prefer taking the tollway because the traffic on the regular road is out of control now," he said.

An employee at state-owned oil company Pertamina, Audy Arwinandha Nasution, said most weekends he drove through Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, where a busway corridor is being built. "Usually, the traffic is smooth on the weekend, but it was a bit crowded last Saturday," he said.

For the past several weeks, construction has been going on for three new busway corridors, from Lebak Bulus to Harmoni, Pinangranti to Pluit and Cililitan to Tanjung Priok.

The surge in public complaints over the traffic prompted the Jakarta Legislative Council to call for a halt to the busway construction.

"The city promised a 'take one give one approach'. For every lane they took, they would give one. The situation has become unbearable. The city should not force it, it should think of a way to avoid such problems," the council's deputy chairman, Ilal Ferhad, was quoted as saying by www.beritajakarta.com.

He asked incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo to reexamine the busway project. "If the city cannot provide new lanes for the ones it takes, it should stop the construction," he said.

In response to the council, Governor Sutiyoso said the city should finish the constructions of the three new lanes as quickly as possible. "They are a part of public facilities. We have to hasten the construction," he was quoted as saying by www.beritajakarta.com.

Sutiyoso also expressed optimism that when construction was finished, the busway would help solve the city's traffic problems.