Esther Samboh, Jakarta – After two meetings in as many days, parties backing both sides of Jakarta's ban on trucks on sections of the inner-city toll road agreed to suspend the ban as of midnight Saturday.
All sections of the inner-city toll road, except the heavily congested section from Cawang to Pluit, would be reopened to trucks as of Saturday at midnight until June 10, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa told reporters at his office in Jakarta on Friday.
"The police will manage the traffic. If congestion occurs, we will be flexible on the Cawang-Pluit section and [it] might be opened, too," Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said.
The Jakarta administration previously extended a ban on trucks to four more sections of the inner-city toll road for a month after implementing a five-day truck ban along the Cawang-Tomang section for the 18th ASEAN Summit on May 7-8.
The expanded ban barred trucks from operating between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. along the sections of the inner-city toll road between Cawang and Tomang, Pluit and Tomang, Cawang and Tanjung Priok, Cawang and Pasar Rebo and Cawang and Cikunir.
The ban was met by a mixed response throughout Jakarta. Some residents reported observing immediate benefits, claiming that the toll road was less crowded and commutes were faster without trucks to slow the pace of traffic.
Some even took to the streets to support the ban, rallying on several days to give moral support to the city administration, which faced a barrage of criticism from the central government, local businesses and truck drivers.
A strike by hundreds of container truck drivers in the Tanjung Priok Port, North Jakarta, on Friday was followed by the triumphant return of their trucks to the toll road.
The drivers, who conducted their strike at Koja Container Terminal 3, demanded that trucks be allowed on all sections of the inner-city toll road. The strike left the port quiet, with only a few trucks spotted.
"By June 10, all related institutions will return here and sit down to evaluate the policy that we all just agreed to test. Then, we will come up with a permanent decision," Hatta said.
The related institutions were comprised of the Transportation Ministry, the Public Works Ministry, the Trade Ministry, the Jakarta Traffic Police, the National Traffic Management Center, the administrations of Jakarta and South Tangerang and the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda), among others.
The results of the evaluation would be taken into consideration for regulations to be developed by the Transportation Ministry and the regional administrations, Freddy said.
Jakarta previously planned imposing a complete ban on trucks traveling on the inner-city toll road to reduce congestion on the city's streets, especially during rush hour.
Container trucks accounted for 30 percent of the vehicles on the toll road during rush hour, according to reports.
Organda chairwoman Eka Sari Lorena – whose organization, along with the Transportation Ministry, opposed the truck ban – said the recent ban on trucks had cost Jakarta's freight distributors Rp 12 billion (US$1.4 million) a day.
"We need to recalculate the potential losses, because our previous estimation was for an overall ban," she said.
Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said all was not lost in the wake of the decision, adding that the city would continue to assess implementing a ban on trucks on sections of the inner-city toll road during certain hours.
"The commitment of all stakeholders must be respected. This is a joint agreement. I just want to remind everyone that Jakarta's Governor was elected by the people of Jakarta. I have a commitment to ensure the prosperity of all citizens, including members of Organda," Fauzi said.
Difficult access and poorly maintained roads have made logistical costs in Indonesia among the highest in the Asia, topping 20 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with 10 percent in Singapore and Japan and 16 percent in Thailand and South Korea.
The Jakarta Police said the return of trucks to the toll roads would likely lead to renewed congestion.
"We tried, but the government thinks otherwise. We have no choice but bow to the pressure, if it's for the sake of the common good," Jakarta Traffic Police chief Sr. Comr. Royke Lumowa said on Friday.
"Residents will bear the consequences and will again face gridlock," he said.