Sausan Atika, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration officially enforced the expansion of the odd-even license plate traffic policy on Monday following a trial run conducted since Aug. 12.
The policy regulates that cars with license plates ending in odd numbers are only allowed to travel on certain roads on odd-numbered dates and even-numbered dates for even license plate numbers.
"We have disseminated information [on the policy] to stakeholders and the enforcement will commence on Sept. 9," Jakarta Police traffic division director Sr. Comr. Yusuf said in a press conference on Friday.
The policy is applied on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. except on public holidays. The number of roads affected by the policy has increased from nine to 25.
However, the city administration has made an exemption for Jl. Salemba Raya –one of the roads affected–precisely a road segment from Jl. Diponegoro toward Jl. Matraman Raya, or in front of Carolus Hospital until the nearest intersection.
The exemption is intended to accommodate motorists exiting Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital via Jl. Diponegoro, Central Jakarta.
With the policy coming into effect on Monday, the Jakarta Police will ticket violators in accordance with Article 287 of the 2009 Road Traffic Law.
"[Violators could face a penalty] of two months in jail or a Rp 500,000 [US$35] fine," the police's traffic law enforcement unit head, Comr. Muhammad Nasir, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
The plan for the extension of the policy, comprising an additional one-hour implementation and number of roads affected, was included in a 2019 gubernatorial instruction issued by Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan on measures his administration would take regarding air pollution.