Experts deny being named as busway consultants

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A number of transportation experts from the University of Indonesia (UI) denied on Tuesday that they were involved in the development of the bus rapid transit system, or busway, as has been claimed by the Jakarta administration.
The experts also affirmed they had never approved the development of the controversial 12.9-kilometer corridor from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta.

"We need to clarify our position on the busway project. We have never been appointed as consultants as reported by the media," said Sutanto Soehodo on behalf of the experts, grouped under UI's Center for Transport Study (CTS).

He was speaking at a press conference which was also attended by other CTS experts including Alvinsyah, Jachrizal Sumabrata, Taufik Adiwianto and Alan Marino.

Sutiyoso and other officials have frequently claimed that the project has been deemed workable by experts while responding to public criticism of the pilot project set to kick off on Jan. 15.

To support the operation, the administration has enforced a three-in-one traffic restriction along the corridor from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Sutanto said the CTS experts were involved only in drafting the Jakarta Macro Transportation Plan, which recommends, among other things, the opening of 14 busway corridors in the city, including the Blok M-Kota corridor.

But the experts did not recommend the already crowded Blok M-Kota route as the first to operate as it would only worsen traffic congestion along the route, he added.

The original recommendation was the opening of the corridor from Pulo Gadung in East Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, passing through Jl. Pemuda, Jl. Pramuka, Jl. Diponegoro and Jl. Imam Bonjol.

Other feasible corridors are:

• Rawa Buaya-Grogol-Harmoni;
• Kampung Melayu-Ancol;
• Pasar Minggu-Manggarai;
• Kampung Rambutan-Kampung Melayu;
• Tomang-Harmoni-Pasar Baru;
• Lebak Bulus-Kebayoran Lama
• and Senayan-Pejompongan routes.

Sutanto said CTS also opposed the extension of the three-in-one traffic policy, the trial of which began on Dec. 24 because it would shift the traffic jams to other areas.

According to Sutanto, congestion charges would be more feasible.
"It would be better to enforce charges along the corridor as it would not totally close the option for people who really need to pass the road," he said.

He stressed that, conceptually, the busway was good as it could become a starting point to improve facilities for public transportation users who were so far being ignored by the government.
he added.
"Unfortunately, the implementation of a good concept has sparked controversy only because of its poor implementation," more

Busway is doubtful project since beginning

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Bus Rapid Transit system, or busway, has attracted strong opposition from transportation experts and observers since it was first introduced by the Jakarta administration in early 2002.
The experts argued that the busway would not be able to resolve chronic traffic congestion in the capital and poor-quality public transportation services.

The assessment did not improve after relevant officials at the administration failed to convince the experts on the busway's effectiveness.

The experts criticized officials for not having a clear concept of the project, continuous changes to the timetable, supporting facilities, the project budget, fuel costs and passengers being targeted.

Analysts have concluded that the busway has been the result of a project ill-prepared by the city administration.

The administration proposed only Rp 60 billion (US$7 million) from its 2002 budget to buy some 60 buses to be used on the 12.9-kilometer corridor from Blok M, South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta.

A promise to operate the busway in October 2002 was broken because the administration had yet to prepare facilities, from bus shelters and pedestrian bridges to lane dividers.

As a consequence, busway costs have gradually escalated, and the administration has proposed to double the original estimate to Rp 120 billion in its 2004 budget.

The busway opening has been delayed several times, from October 2002 to December 2002 to December 2003 and finally -- if it is not changed again -- Jan. 15, 2004.

The designs for the bus shelters and pedestrian bridges changed drastically after Governor Sutiyoso visited Bogota. He was unhappy at the old designs and wanted a copy of the ones in Bogota.

Feeder bus services, to support the busway, will not have air-conditioned buses as promised earlier, which could discourage private car owners from using the buses.

Contradictory statements on the busway:

• Jan. 7, 2002: Deputy Governor for development affairs Budihardjo Sukmadi says at a hearing with City Council Commission D for development:

- Busway to operate in October 2002 from Blok M to Kota.
- Rp 50 billion investment to be spent on some 50 air-conditioned buses and the building of 29 new bus shelters.

• Jan. 13, 2002: Head of the City Transportation Agency Rustam Effendy says the buses will use gas.
  
  
• Jan. 22, 2002: City Council approves Rp 54 billion budget for the project.
  
  
• April 25, 2002: Rustam says: - Busway operation to start in December 2002

- Ticket price to be Rp 3,000 per trip
- 40 bus shelters to be built

• Sept. 26, 2002: Governor Sutiyoso says: - Busway operation delayed until 2003.

- 60 buses to be operated.
- Bus ticket price to be Rp 2,500 per trip.

• Feb. 3, 2003: Sutiyoso states: - Busway to start operating in December 2003.

- Rp 83 billion (US$9.2 million) to be allocated to busway in 2003.

• May 8, 2003: Assistant to the city secretary for development affairs Irzal Djamal says:

- Some 140 buses to be operated -- 60 bought by the city administration and 80 by private companies.
- Ticketing system to be handled by private companies.
- Air-conditioned feeder services to be prepared.

• May 16, 2003: Irzal says: - License plate-based restriction to be enforced for private cars all over the city.

- Three-in-one traffic policy to be extended along the busway corridor from dawn to dusk.

• June 9, 2003: Irzal says: - Another Rp 32 billion sought for busway project -- Rp 15 billion for the new design of 29 bus shelters and Rp 17 billion for redesigning 21 pedestrian bridges.

- International Euro II fuel system to be used for the buses.

• June 15, 2003: Rustam says the administration plans to deploy armed and well-trained security officers to prevent onboard bus crime.
  
  
• Sept. 20, 2003: Head of the City Transportation Agency's system development division D.H. Rini says more money is needed to advertise the busway project on television.
  
  
• Oct. 3, 2003: Construction of eight of 29 bus shelters begins.
  
  
• Nov. 9, 2003: Irzal says tanker trucks will deliver Euro 2 diesel fuel, which price is Rp 2,080 per liter, directly from Balongan refinery, West Java, to Jakarta.
  
  
• Dec. 8, 2003: The administration proposes Rp 120 billion for the busway project from its 2004 budget.
  
  
• Dec. 12, 2003: Jakarta Police and the administration start to clear four alternative routes along the busway corridor.
  
  
• Dec. 19, 2003: - Sutiyoso says he prefers to implement the three-in-one policy from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

- Rustam says feeder service buses will be taken from the ones currently operating on 16 routes and will not be air-conditioned.

• Dec. 24, 2003: A 30-day tryout of the new three-in-one traffic policy from Blok M to Kota, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., starts.

From media reports
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Feeder service downgraded

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta Transportation Agency has failed to fulfill its promise to provide air-conditioned and comfortable buses for the feeder services to support the busway project.
Head of the agency, Rustam Effendi, said that the feeder service buses would be taken from the ones in currently in service on 16 routes.

"The bus operators, which had earlier agreed to provide new air-conditioned, comfortable buses for the feeder services, now say they can't afford to buy new ones, so they will use the existing buses plying the same routes," he said after attending a presentation of the busway project on Friday.

A transportation expert from the University of Indonesia, Bambang Susantono, criticized the agency, saying that the administration's purpose was to encourage working people with cars to use the busway corridor from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta instead, or else the busway project would be a failure.

"Learning from other countries that have also implemented the busway, the number of private car owners shifting to the busway is not growing significantly even with the availability of good feeder services," he told The Jakarta Post by phone.

"I believe many Jakartans will still use their cars, particularly if we have poor feeder services to reach the Blok M bus terminal to get into the busway."

The city administration has aimed to reduce the number of private cars by providing busway, in which all the buses have been touted as air-conditioned and clean.

The transportation agency data shows that the number of private cars is 1.5 million, compared to 315,000 public buses.

For the initial phase, there are only 56 buses with a maximum capacity to transport 20,000 of the 60,000 commuters from Blok M to Kota everyday. The city will get 50 more buses by the middle of next year.

A passenger will be charged Rp 2,500 for a trip on the busway and must pay Rp 2,900 for the feeder services for the inner Jakarta zone and Rp 3,800 for the outer Jakarta zone.

The feeder service tickets will be sold at 16 locations in residential areas in the capital and its outskirts. Commuters who purchase a busway feeder service ticket will not be charged twice as there will be free transfers to the busway.

From one feeder service bus ticket, the busway operator will recieve Rp 1,500.

To support the implementation of the busway, the agency will also implement the new three-in-one traffic policy, in which a car must have at least three passengers while driving on that corridor, from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The policy has been opposed by motorists. But the agency argued that it has prepared four alternative roads parallel to the busway corridor.

I-box Routes to be served by busway feeder services

1. Tangerang-Tomang-Blok M
2. Bekasi-Blok M
3. Bintaro-Blok M
4. Cibinong-Blok M
5. Warung Buncit-Blok M
6. Rawamangun-Tanah Abang
7. Grogol-Pasar Rebo
8. Pasar Minggu-Antarasari-Blok M
9. Muara Angke-Pluit-Kota
10. Kampung Melayu-Cideng
11. Lebak Bulus-Fatmawati-Blok M
12. Lebak Bulus-Blok M
13. Ciledug-Blok M
14. Tanjung Priok-Ancol-Kota
15. Pulogadung-Harmoni
16. Kali Deres-Daan Mogot-Harmoni

Source: Office of the assistant to the city secretary for development affairs
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Sutiyoso Pastikan Pelaksanaan Busway

TEMPO Interaktif, Jakarta: Gubernur DKI Jakarta Sutiyoso memastikan, program busway tetap dilaksanakan pada 15 Januari 2004. "Keputusan itu adalah yang terbaik. Kalau tanggal itu sudah siap ya dilanjutkan, kenapa harus ditunda?"kata Sutiyoso, di Balai Kota, Jakarta, Jumat (19/12).

Walau demikian, sampai sekarang pembicaraan tentang busway masih berlangsung di ruang rapat pimpinan Balai Kota Jakarta. "Kami akan buat keputusan yang paling baik," kata Sutiyoso.

Sementara itu Project Manager International Transportation Development Program (ITDP) Fatimah Nasution menyetujui pernyataan Menteri Perhubungan Agum Gumelar soal penundaan pengoperasian busway. "Jika memang pemerintah belum siapkan feeder line jangan dioperasikan dulu," ujarnya kepada wartawan di Balai Kota.

Ia menyatakan kesuksesan program busway akan sangat tergantung pada kesungguhan pemerintah dalam menetapkan target saat peluncuran Januari nanti. Selain itu pembenahan feeder line juga harus dilakukan dengan cermat.

Fatimah mengungkapkan bahwa Jakarta adalah surga untuk busway. "Jakarta bisa lebih sukses dari Bogota soal busway," ujarnya. Menurutnya, dari segi fisik, Jakarta memiliki koridor yang lebih lebar jika dibanding Bogota, sehingga tidak perlu dilakukan penggusuran di sepanjang jalan untuk membuat jalur khusus busway. Ia juga yakin busway bisa memperbaiki kemacetan.

Menurut Fatimah, sistem busway di Jakarta saat ini masih belum bisa dibandingkan dengan yang ada di Bogota. "Kita masih sepotong-sepotong. Suatu saat kalau semua sudah komplit baru bisa dibandingkan dengan Bogota," ungkapnya. Apalagi, tambahnya, pengguna kendaraan pribadi di Jakarta lebih banyak.

Fatimah menambahkan, bahwa tiap kota memiliki karakteristik tersendiri sehingga tidak bisa dibanding-bandingkan.

Mawar Kusuma WKM - Tempo News Room
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Menhub: Busway, Tidak Ada Koordinasi

TEMPO Interaktif, Jakarta: Menteri Perhubungan Agum Gumelar menyesalkan tidak adanya koordinasi yang baik antara Departemen Perhubungan dan Pemerintah Provinsi DKI Jakarta dalam pelaksanaan program busway. Akibatnya muncul reaksi kontra yang kuat dari masyarakat Jakarta.

"Selama ini lack of communication, tahu-tahu sudah berjalan. Saya justru mau meminta penjelasan dari Gubernur DKI (Sutiyoso)," kata dia di sela-sela acara penandatanganan sampul dan perangko hari pertama peringatan 100 Tahun Penerbangan di gedung Departemen Perhubungan Jakarta, Rabu (17/12).

Menurut Agum, pihaknya akan meminta penjelasan lengkap mengenai program busway dalam pertemuan dengan Sutiyoso. "Sudah diatur waktunya besok (Kamis, 18/12)untuk paparkan kepada saya," ujar Agum.

Sebelumnya, Direktus Jenderal Perhubungan Darat Iskandar Abubakar mengatakan pemerintah provinsi DKI terlalu berani menempatkan busway pada koridor yang sangat penting. “Untuk koridor lain mungkin busway cocok. Tapi tidak untuk yang sekarang. Jadi saya hanya melihat ini sebagai solusi jangka pendek,” katanya.

Lebih lanjut menurutnya, busway hanya menyediakan satu jalur saja. Padahal, harusnya angkutan yang mulai beroperasi 15 Januari 2004 ini, akan menjadi lebih baik kalau membentuk sebuah jaringan. Artinya, juga menyediakan feeder services atau angkutan pengumpan yang bagus. “Jangan naik bus AC tapi nantinya menuju tempat tujuan naik metromini yang eplek-eplek,” ujar Iskandar.

SS. Kurniawan - Tempo News Room
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Busway going nowhere

Jakarta Post - We can already envisage what the traffic will be like once the busway project is up and running. The congestion starts at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle and "Hot Plate Harry" traffic circle in Kebayoran, South Jakarta.

Even when there are no special buses on the roads! What will happen when passengers start going backwards and forwards across the street because there are no stairs or they are too lazy to use them?

And then, there is the extended 3-in-1 restriction from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday to Friday. I am a female senior citizen and always drive alone. I am too scared to hire two "jockeys" to make up three people in my car and, besides, I need my money for other things than paying such jockeys. This is really too much. So I cannot go to Kebayoran or Glodok downtown from Monday to Friday? Or I have to be home "in the stable" by 4 p.m.? And after that I cannot go out again to see a doctor, do errands, or visit friends in Kebayoran or Kota or meet at a restaurant there? (I live in Grogol, West Jakarta).

What about all the offices/banks/restaurants/hotels/shops on Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Sudirman and Kota and their visitors, bosses and employees who drive alone? They will have to leave the office at 3:30 p.m. or earlier, to run the gauntlet in time, or be stuck there until 8 p.m.

And then think of the plight of servants sent to pick up their bosses from the office. Three employees (two servants and the driver) will be needed to fetch the boss. Just imagine the discomfort of the servant and the boss sitting together in the back -- only one of the servants can sit in the front next to the driver. Not to mention the problems faced by housewives, who have to let their servants go for between two and four hours at the time when dinner has to be prepared and they need the servants.

Only a man could think up such a useless scheme, inconveniencing the whole city for the profit of a few. I am furious. But how can we stop this nonsense?

SUHARTO Jakarta
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Bus-way Dinilai Bukan Solusi Jalur Padat

TEMPO Interaktif, Jakarta: Bus-way dianggap bukan solusi yang tepat untuk koridor penting seperti Jalan Sudirman dan Thamrin. Proyek itu hanyalah solusi jangka pendek. Demikian dikatakan Iskandar Abubakar, Direktur Jenderal Hubungan Darat Departemen Perhubungan (Dephub). "Koridor itu penting, memiliki demand tinggi. Sekarang saja kapasitas tampungnya sudah jenuh. Bus-way bukan solusinya," kata Iskandar, di Jakarta, Senin (15/12).

Menurut Iskandar, Pemerintah Daerah DKI Jakarta terlalu berani memasukkan bus-way yang direncanakan beroperasi 15 Januari 2004 itu, ke koridor penting dengan hanya menyediakan satu jalur. "Ini solusi intermedier, tidak memberikan jawaban," kata Iskandar. Tapi, katanya, jika bus-way membentuk jaringan, termasuk penyediaan feeder services, angkutan penumpang yang baik, kondisi pasti akan membaik.

Selain itu, kata Iskandar, persoalan mengubah kebiasaan masyarakat untuk beralih ke angkutan umum, juga tidak mudah diselesaikan. "Segmentasi akan terbentuk, karena mereka yang berpendapatan tinggi tidak akan melepas kendaraan pribadinya. Masyarakat kelas menengah yang beralih pun tidak akan mencukupi kapasitas bus-way. Perlu jaringan yang lebih luas lagi," katanya.

Sementara, usulan Pemda DKI Jakarta untuk penerapan traffic demand management, yaitu memperluas daerah dan memperpanjang waktu pelaksanaan three in one, serta pembatasan kendaraan dengan nomor polisi tertentu, dianggap akan menimbulkan persoalan baru. Untuk itu, kata Iskandar, solusi jangka panjang untuk mengatasi kemacetan dan angkutan publik di Jakarta adalah Mass Rapid Transportation, kereta bawah tanah. "Rencana lama ini hanya terbentur pada investasi," katanya.

Listi Fitria - Tempo News Room
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