Traffic law

The Jakarta Post

It is great to see ideas on dealing with the gridlock in our nation's capital city. The monorail and busway should provide excellent solutions if they are implemented extensively and managed professionally.

For visitors and residents who do not own a car it is impractical to travel outside Jakarta. Public transportation is very dirty and slow. Taxis are convenient and would be an excellent choice for people wishing to go to Puncak, Anyer, Merak or Pelabuhan Ratu.

Unfortunately there is a strange law that forbids taxis past Ciawi, Bekasi and Tanggerang. As a resident of Jakarta who has relied on taxis for years, I will have to buy a car this year because of the convenience of out of town travel.

Rather than encourage people to buy cars, maybe the local government can look into reforming the taxi boundary law, prohibit smoking on public transportation, implement busway and MRT routes that interconnect all over Jakarta, including the airport. At the present rate of traffic flow, it is faster to walk in many places.

MARK OGILVIE, Jakarta