Just ahead of the landmark 100th day in office, Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has proven how difficult it is to manage the metropolitan city, particularly its traffic, which for many is a source of daily frustration.

Uphill challenges, difficulties and pressure from internal and external forces should not be excuses for the governor to seek a compromise, let alone a policy turnaround – as illustrated by his recent approval of a toll road project.

After a briefing by Public Works Minister Djoko Kirmanto on Wednesday, Jokowi threw his weight behind the plan to construct six new elevated inner-city toll roads, a project initiated during the term of governor Sutiyoso, citing that the capital was in dire need of new roads to support public transportation.

Jokowi said he endorsed the Rp 42 trillion (US$4.3 billion) project as the toll roads would accommodate public transportation free of charge.

With construction expected to commence next year and finish in 2022 under the auspices of PT Jakarta Tollroad Development (JTD), the new toll roads will connect Semanan-Sunter (17.88 kilometers [km]), Sunter-Bekasi Raya (11 km), Duripulo-Kampung Melayu (11.38 km), Kemayoran-Kampung Melayu (9.65 km), Ulujami-Tanah Abang (8.27 km) and Pasar Minggu-Casablanca (9.56 km).

Defending his decision, Jokowi insisted that there is no single solution to the city's crippling traffic problems other than to combine public transportation improvements and the construction of new roads. His argument seems to make sense, especially given the imminent traffic standstill the city faces if no immediate solution is sought.

However, Jokowi's support for the toll road project contradicts his election promises and recent initiatives to shift people from private cars to public transportation. Jokowi has therefore sent a confusing message to the public concerning his traffic policy.

Jakarta's voters should well remember the pledge made by Jokowi and his running mate Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's to reject toll road development schemes during the election campaign last year. They said they would focus on improving public transportation services. Sharing the view of transportation experts, they said, the construction of more roads was a solution that would encourage more people to buy and drive private cars.

Jokowi demonstrated his support for public transportation when he unveiled his proposal to improve the Transjakarta busway service, develop a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, reestablish the monorail project and most recently the odd-even license plate system to limit the use of private vehicles. The governor had intended to implement an electronic road pricing scheme before eventually opting for the odd-even license plate scheme.

For us, and probably the public, however, Jokowi's green lighting of the toll road project has cast doubts upon his championing of public transportation – which we believe is the solution to the maddening traffic problem that grips the city.

The city government may claim the plan to construct the six elevated toll roads has passed an environmental impact assessment but that is not really the case. A toll road in principle is built to serve private cars and therefore runs counter to the public transportation policy.

Governors who ruled before Jokowi initiated measures to address the traffic chaos, however, the congestion just deteriorated further. We do not expect Jokowi to emerge as the savior of the city from the traffic problems but it is feared that his inconsistency to advance our public transportation infrastructure – as a backbone of the city as in other big cities – will see only compromise.

We are afraid that Jokowi, only after three months in office, has already put his credibility at stake.