Getting people out of their cars

The Jakarta Post

Teguh Utomo Atmoko, Jakarta

There is a tremendous effort by the city administration to make people shift from private vehicles to public transit in order to ease traffic jams and to avoid wasting time and money. Yet, in a city with a population of over 12 million by day and close to 10 million by night, set in the middle of an urbanized region of about 25 million, most people still rely on private vehicles to get around. Grand efforts are underway to ease transportation problems in the metropolis. These include busways, a monorail, subways and commuter trains. Will this make people shift to public transport? It depends.

There is a trend toward people moving back into the center of the city and living in apartment buildings. More and more apartment buildings are being constructed in the inner city area and more and more units are owner occupied. Ideally, these inner city apartment dwellers would be within walking distance of their places of work and other frequent destinations. In reality, however, not everybody is so conveniently located to these everyday destinations; therefore, they need some form of transportation to these places.

Transporting people is not just about moving them from one station, terminal or bus stop to another. It is about transporting people from their original location, such as a home, shop or office, to their final destination. On top of that, there is a need to provide a service for those who have multiple destinations.

Melbourne and Miami, for example, each have a free local public transit system that covers their rather large but compact downtown areas. Melbourne is famous for its free street car downtown shuttles. Miami downtowners are free to use the monorail within the downtown area. In the case of larger downtown areas like Manhattan, New York, the famous yellow cabs are happy to serve downtowners. Moving them around the island for a price, they are rather reluctant to take you to the suburbs during busy hours. In Sydney the daily, weekly and monthly mass transit ticket is the solution for the journey between home and work as well as for moving about within the city center.

So far the grand design of the Greater Jakarta public transit system (if there is any) appears only to address transporting people from one point to another and not from the person's place of origin to their final destination. The abysmal condition of the city's existing sidewalks is clear evidence of this. Poor urban design also aggravates the situation.

The majority of buildings in Jakarta are not pedestrian friendly and are very poorly related to sidewalks. People need to ride in vehicles from one building entrance to another, as if they were in the suburbs. Buildings are situated like villas, only now the lot size is drastically reduced. Even a shop-house is required to be set back from the road and sidewalks. Large buildings like shopping plazas, such as Plaza Indonesia, often are turned away from the sidewalks. Perhaps Jakarta is the only world class city that has this kind of urban design. If, in the 1970s, Jakarta's nickname was "the big village", perhaps today it should be "the big, overcrowded and congested suburb".

To seduce people into leaving their vehicles at home and use public transportation is not just a matter of building a public transit system. There is a need to provide ways for people to travel around within an urban area too large to navigate solely by walking. In addition to the provision of good sidewalks, the city's urban design, especially near the centers of urban activities, should be pedestrian friendly with buildings open to and facing the sidewalks. Sidewalks need to be changed and improved to be on par with other world class cities that have sidewalks which function well, and are clean, and safe. It's equally important that sidewalks be well connected to people's place of origin and destination.

This task does not just fall on the people responsible for transportation provision. Other related city agencies, and not just the city transportation agency, must contribute their efforts and expertise, especially the town planning office, the urban design issues agency (Dinas Tata Kota), and the city parks agency which is responsible for parks and sidewalks. Otherwise people will always stays in their vehicles, and money spent for development of public transit will be wasted. So, Jakartans, prepare to pay for the shortfall of monorail development.

The writer is a lecturer at the Department of Architecture, Engineering School, University of Indonesia.
He can be reached at tiua@eng.ui.ac.id.
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Petugas loket mogok

Petugas Loket Busway Mogok

TEMPO Interaktif, Jakarta: Ratusan petugas loket karcis busway mogok tadi pagi. Mereka menagih janji kenaikan gaji dari PT Delta yang mempekerjakan mereka.

“Kami dijanjikan akan mendapatkan gaji 1,2 juta, tetapi hingga kini realisasinya belum ada,” ungkap salah satu petugas di Halte Sarinah. Berdasarkan pengakuan mereka PT Delta telah menjanjikan kenaikan tersebut antara dua hingga tiga bulan yang lalu.

Petugas yang tak mau disebut namanya itu mengatakan sejak pagi para pengguna busway tidak ada satu pun yang terlayani. “Petugas loketnya tidak ada gimana mau beli karcis,” katanya.
Dia menjelaskan yang ikut dalam aksi tersebut adalah karyawan di 22 halte yang ada.

Aksi mogok itu dibenarkan oleh Kepala BP Trans Jakarta, Bambang Garjito. “Karyawan yang mogok sekitar 800 orang,” tuturnya. Tetapi menurutnya masalah itu sudah dapat teratasi.
Berkaitan dengan aksi mogol tersebut, BP Trans akan mengajukan teguran ke PT Delta. “Kami juga akan mengajukan ganti rugi akibat aksi tersebut,” katanya. Tapi jumlahnya belum dihitung.

Penyesalan juga tercetus dari mulut Gubernur DKI Jakarta Sutiyoso. “Kalau dengan cara-cara seperti itu saya kecewa karena konsumen telantarkan,” ujarnya di Balai Kota. Ia minta kalau ada masalah dalam operasional busway hendaknya diselesaikan secara bersama-sama. | YUDHA SETIAWAN
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First busway transfer station opened

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso opened Thursday the Harmoni Central Busway (HCB), the transport system's first transfer station.
The new station will enable passengers to transfer between corridor I (Blok M-Kota), II (Pulo Gadung-Harmoni) and III (Kalideres-Harmoni).

Sutiyoso said he hoped the Rp 51 billion station, which has six automatic doors and can hold up to 600 people at one time, would help serve customers better and reduce traffic.

The HCB (above) straddles the Ciliwung River in West Jakarta. Construction began in August last year, but was delayed at one point because of budget allocation problems.

"This is the biggest station we have. People shouldn't have to wait any longer than 10 minutes between buses," Sutiyoso said in his speech, which started about 15 minutes later than scheduled.
"In January we will be operating seven fully functioning corridors. By the end of 2007 we plan to have 10 corridors," he told guests and the media.

He said all the corridors would eventually be integrated into a united city transportation scheme which would include monorail stations.

"Better to suffer (traffic congestion during construction) now and reap the benefits later," he said, adding that he would also do his best to make the busway safer.

He then rode the busway with his staff to Pulo Gadung station.

Muhammad Akbar, the traffic management unit head at the Jakarta Transportation Agency, said no trees had been cut down for the project. He added that a banyan tree on Jl. Hayam Wuruk next to the HCM had caused them some problems, however.

"None of the workers were able to cut it down ... Some people believe that it's possessed. We paved the ground around it with cement, but somehow the tree managed to survive," he said.(03)
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Skywalks and bendy buses for busway

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Come January, Busway riders will notice a few new things about the system.

The Jakarta Transportation Agency plans to build transfer bridges between different corridors and stations to save space and make trips more convenient.

The agency will also bring in articulated, or "bendy", buses for corridor V between Kampung Melayu in East Jakarta and Ancol in North Jakarta.

"We will build a sky walk between paid areas and transfer bridges in Senen, between Matraman and Pramuka and between Dukuh Atas and Landmakr," said agency traffic management unit head Muhammad Akbar on Monday.

"This will make traveling with the busway faster. People holding paid tickets won't have to go out of paid areas," Akbar said.

The longest sky bridge will be one connecting corridors V and I along Jl. Sudirman, which will stretch about 200 meters.

Akbar said the agency would also build "floating" stations above the bus way on corridor V on Jl. Mampang Prapatan.

"Because the street there is really narrow, we have be innovative to make use of the space," he said, adding that the ticketing booth and transaction area would be in the floating station and passengers would access the bus via a ramp. Three floating stations will be built over the Jl. Mampang Prapatan crossroads in front of the Immigration Office.

"Usually, we have around three or four square meters of land to build a busway station on. But in this area, we only have about one or two square meters," Akbar said.

Articulated buses, which consist of two buses connected by an accordion bend, will also help smooth out the busway system.

"So far we can only accommodate corridor V due to its straight road. We'll see if we can implement it in other corridors," Akbar said.

Jakarta Park Agency head Sarwo Handayani said the agency would consider providing plants and flowers for the bridges and stations if space permitted.

"We can put bougainvillea flowers on the bridges. As soon as we know if it's possible we can start making arrangements," she said Monday.

Some residents have suggested that if the articulated buses help reduce congestion in corridor V then they should be used on all routes, while others are concerned they may not work.

Oki Gultom, who lives in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, and works on Jl. MH Thamrin, said Monday that the articulated buses might be redundant and inefficient in areas where other vehicles crossed paths with busway buses, such as around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.

"During busy times in corridor I (Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta), buses catch up with each other within three minutes. If the capacity and quantity of single buses is to be reduced and replaced with double buses, then it might be effective to maintain a time lapse between the buses," he added. (03)
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Dicari Armada Busway Koridor 4 hingga 7

BeritaJakarta - Pemerintah Provinsi DKI Jakarta saat ini sedang membuka kesempatan kepada para pengusaha dan operator bus untuk menyediakan bus untuk busway koridor 4 hingga koridor 7.

Wakil Kepala Dinas Perhubungan DKI Jakarta Udar Pristono, Selasa (25/7) mengungkapkan, pihaknya akan memberi kesempatan kepada perusahaan pendatang baru sekitar 40 persen dari total kebutuhan bus untuk empat koridor yaitu 200 unit lebih. Sedangkan 60 persen sisanya diberikan kepada PT Mayasari Bakti, PPD, Steady Safe, dan Pahala Kencana yang tergabung dalam Konsosrsium PT Transbatavia dimana selama ini keempat perusahaan itu sebagai penyedia bus untuk busway koridor II Pulo Gadung-Harmoni dan koridor III Harmoni-Kalideres.

Pristono menjelaskan, International Finance Corporation (IFC) sanggup memberi bantuan modal bila perusahaan atau operator yang nanti terpilih membutuhkan tambahan dana untuk pengadaan bus.

"Perusahaan atau operator bus yang terpilih, musti memiliki keahlian dalam bidang jasa transportasi, memiliki kemampuan keuangan dan kemampuan teknis serta menawarkan nilai sewa bus per kilometer yang kompetitif," kata Pristono.

Pristono optimis, busway koridor 4 hingga 7 mulai dikerjakan awal bulan Agustus 2006 dan mulai beroperasi 15 Januari 2007 mendatang.
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Busway operator to make route safer

The Jakarta Post | JAKARTA: Busway operator PT TransBatavia is considering building more crossing bridges on the Harmoni-Kalideres route for pedestrians' safety.
City administration secretary Ritola Tasmaya said Friday that a number of proposals had been made by consortium members -- including the administration -- but no decision was reached.
"We are still not sure what to build, maybe more crossing bridges so people can cross the road safely," he said.

A pedestrian, Wawan Dharmawan, died Thursday after being hit by a busway bus.
It was the third fatal accident involving a busway bus on the route since it opened in January.
"Keeping the busway operating and road users safe are both priorities," Ritola said. --JP more

Pasokan gas kurang

BeritaJakarta - Gubernur DKI Jakarta Sutiyoso menyesalkan kurangnya suplai gas dari PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) untuk armada busway. Pernyataan itu disampaikannya menyusul tersendatnya pasokan gas untuk busway, Selasa (6/6). Kejadian itu menyebabkan sejumlah armada tidak beroperasi.

Karena itu, Mantan Pangdam jaya itu meminta agar PT PGN dapat menjamin suplai gas sesuai komitmen semula perusahaan tersebut kepada Pemerintah Provinsi (Pemprov) DKI Jakarta.

"Saya tidak ingin kejadian serupa terulang kembali. Oleh sebab itu, saya minta PT PGN segera mengevaluasi hal-hal teknis agar suplai gas tetap berjalan lancar," kata Sutiyoso, di Balai Kota, Rabu (7/6).

Apalagi, kata Sutiyoso, Jakarta dan Surabaya merupakan pilot project penggunaan bahan bakar gas (BBG) di Indonesia.

"Saya berharap PGN segera memperbaiki kinerja mereka. Saya tidak ingin ada kendala dalam penggunaan BBG di ibu kota," jelas Sutiyoso.

Di tempat yang sama, Udar Pristono, Wakil Kepala Dinas Perhubungan DKI Jakarta membenarkan sejumlah armada di koridor II dan III kemarin tidak dapat beroperasi. Hal itu disebabka0n bocornya pipa gas di Muara Karang, Jakarta Utara. "Akibatnya, suplai gas ke armada busway menjadi tersendat," ujarnya.

Namun, kata Pristono, saat ini kebocoran pipa gas itu sedang diperbaiki. "Mudah-mudahan segera selesai sehingga suplai gas bisa lancar kembali," ungkapnya.

Seperti diberitakan kemarin, sejak pukul 13.00 hingga pukul 17.00 WIB, sejumlah armada bus Transjakarta dan Transbatavia berbahan bakar gas di koridor II dan III tidak beroperasi karena kurangnya pasokan gas. Alhasil, pelayanan kepada pengguna busway menjadi terganggu.
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