Tempo.Co, Iqbal Muhtarom, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in inaugurating the Makassar-Parepare Antar Maros-Barru railway and the Maros railway depot on Wednesday lamented the notorious traffic jam that happens throughout the day and night in the capital city of Jakarta.

He blames this on Jakarta having developed its public transport 30 years too late. Which he said had motivated people to choose personal transportation over public transportation. The capital has currently operated a single MRT line and a future LRT.

"So, ladies and gentlemen, in Jakarta there are traffic jams in the morning, traffic jams in the afternoon, and in the evening, because of delays in building [public transport]," said the President during the inauguration on March 29.

Unfortunately, he said, notorious traffic congestion is not uniquely Jakarta's problem anymore and argues that it has spread to other major cities in the country.

"Everyone is using private vehicles, and finally cities are now facing traffic, not only in Jakarta but, Bandung, Medan, Surabaya, Semarang, and Makassar are all experiencing it," Jokowi lamented.

According to Jokowi, the construction of the Makassar-Parepare railway line is to accelerate the development of public transportation in Sulawesi as he believes that if it doesn't start everyone will prefer personal vehicles over mass transportation.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1708850/jokowi-bemoans-round-the-clock-jakarta-city-traffic-ja