SP/Deti Mega Purnamasari, Jakarta – Jakarta has been named the city with the worst traffic congestion in the world, according to a new study, while Surabaya – Indonesia's second-biggest city – has been ranked fourth among 78 international cities and regions.

The Castrol-Magnatec Stop-Start Index, published by British motor-oil company Castrol, used GPS data to calculate the frequency of stop-start driving among motorists across the globe.

Drivers in Jakarta made 33,240 stop-starts annually, the study found, while drivers in Surabaya made 29,880. Motorists in Istanbul, Turkey, which took the number two spot on the index, registered 32,520 stop-starts annually; while drivers in Mexico City, number three on the list, recorded 30,840 stop-starts on average.

At the other end of the scale, drivers in Rotterdam in the Netherlands registered 6360 stop-starts a year.

The index, which was put together using the GPS data provided by Tom Tom navigation users, said drivers experiencing more than 18,000 stop-starts a year experienced "severe" traffic.

The results won't surprise many commuters in the capital and Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama admitted there was more to do. He said he was unhappy with the index but did not deny his city had the worst traffic in the world.

"It is true anyway. If you don't have a train-based transportation system, there will be traffic congestion. Even Japan still has traffic congestion, let alone Jakarta," Basuki said on Wednesday.

"That is why we have started building a train-based transportation system, at least it can solve the problem gradually," he said.

Basuki said Jakarta's traffic was his biggest challenge in governing the capital and it would take decades until the city would overcome the problem. "This is homework for the next 30, 40 years. We can only endure it for now," he said.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/jakarta-worlds-worst-traffic-gridlock/