Agnes Winarti and Tifa Asrianti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta governor says his administration is still studying whether a counterflow system along busway lanes could reduce the city's traffic.

"We will evaluate the counterflow policy but I want everything to be coordinated. All lanes should be guarded, if necessary," Governor Fauzi Bowo said Monday morning.

The counterflow proposal, which would allow the busway to operate in reverse direction, was suggested by busway operator TransJakarta to decrease the headway in Corridor VI (Lebak Bulus-Kuningan) some 40 minutes from the current 80 to 90 minutes.

Corridor VI suffers from congestion because many private cars use the lane. By implementing a counterflow system, private cars drivers are expected to be reluctant to use busway lanes.

Over the weekend, a group of NGOs said in a press conference that up to Rp 130 billion could be saved annually from the busway's operational costs if the operators' consortium were to accept a recent tender.

A tender for corridors IV to VII completed at the end of December last year resulted in an operational cost of between Rp 9,300 (about US$1) and Rp 9,500 per kilometer, down from the current level of Rp 12,885 (about $1.40) paid to the consortium.

"All this time the existing consortium has created an inefficiency, 25 to 30 percent in its operational cost per kilometer," Budi Kuncoro from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) said in the press conference with the Institute of Transportation Study (INSTRAN), the Jakarta Residents Forum (FAKTA) and operator Transjakarta on Saturday.

The current end-user tariff of Rp 3,500 results in Rp 240 billion annually. The government must add a subsidy of some Rp 500 billion more.

"Without the administration's subsidy, the consortium would set a price of some Rp 10,500 per ticket. Who would be able to afford that?" Budi said.

The consortium, consisting of transportation companies PPD, Mayasari Bakti, Steady Safe and Bianglala, which since January 2007 has been operating 60 percent of busway fleets from corridors IV to VII, has not accepted the new tariff tender.

"Our evaluation and negotiation team still faces a discussion deadlock with the consortium," said head of Transjakarta Dradjad Adhyaksa.

The consortium has not received payment since January because it rejected the new tariff supported by Transjakarta.

"I have the authority to decide, but it's a tough decision and very problematic," said Dradjad.

He said he was currently waiting for the governor's counsel.

"For the sake of the efficiency of the public money, of course I prefer to use the lower bid. But if they (the consortium) choose to have a strike later, what could I do?

"This is all a money issue," Dradjad said.

Annual Costs Consortium Tender Result
Investment Cost Rp 414 million/unit Rp 255 million/unit
Maintenance Cost Rp 464 million/unit Rp 462 million/unit
Overhead Cost Rp 200 million/unit Rp 85 million/unit

Mustaqim Adamrah and Tifa Asrianti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Commuters have been steering clear of the city's busway system as delays and travel times continue to lengthen.

City transportation agency deputy head Udar Pristono said the number of commuters dropped from 210,000 a day last year to 180,000 a day now.

Deputy Governor Prijanto said he was looking into the situation.

"Perhaps the decreasing number of ticket sales has been triggered by the longer time passengers need to take for a bus to arrive and to travel on," he said at City Hall.

"I'm intrigued to find out whether our busway system would reach an ideal state and if the number of passengers would rebound if we added more buses to particular routes. For example, we could move buses operating in corridors 4 to 7 to corridors 1 to 3," he said.

Utar said the drop in passengers may have been caused by the city's "mixed traffic" policy, instituted by Governor Fauzi Bowo late last year, which allows motorists to use the busway lanes in certain areas and at certain times.

It was introduced after motorists mounted a series of protests over traffic jams caused by the construction of corridors 8 to 10.

"Ideally, commuters need only 40 to 50 minutes to travel from Ragunan (in South Jakarta) to Dukuh Atas (in Central Jakarta), but it can take 80 minutes in practice because of those other vehicles also using busway lanes," said Pristono.

He said motorists were not allowed to pass through corridors 1 to 7 but could use 8, 9 and 10 until they were completed.

Aimed at temporarily tackling congestion across Jakarta, the policy has since drawn praise from motorists and anger from bus passengers.

Busway operator TransJakarta's infrastructure manager Taufik Adiwianto said busway passenger numbers had dropped considerably since the policy was implemented last year.

"Corridor 6 is the hardest hit, with a 10 percent decrease. It now serves only 18,000 passengers per day, compared to 20,000 previously," Taufik told The Jakarta Post.

He said the decrease in other corridors also affected the number of passengers on Corridor 1.

Corridor 1, which used to serve more than 80,000 passengers per day, now only serves between 70,000 and 75,000, according to Taufik.

"I'm sure the passengers prefer to drive their own cars or motorcycles as there is no difference, whether they're taking the busway or not," he said.

"Hopefully, the administration will review the mixed traffic regulation. The lanes should be exclusively for the busway only during the peak hours, which last between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.," he said.

I-Box

Corridor Route
—————————————————————- 1 Kota (W. Jakarta) - Blok M (S. Jakarta)
2 Pulo Gadung (E. Jakarta) - Harmoni (C. Jakarta)
3 Kalideres (W. Jakarta) - Harmoni (C. Jakarta)
4 Pulo Gadung (E. Jakarta) - Dukuh Atas (C. Jakarta)
5 Ancol (N. Jakarta) - Kampung Melayu (E. Jakarta)
6 Ragunan - Kuningan (both S. Jakarta)
7 Kampung Rambutan - Kampung Melayu (both E. Jakarta)
8 Lebak Bulus (S. Jakarta) - Harmoni (C. Jakarta)
9 Pinang Ranti (E. Jakarta) - Pluit (N. Jakarta)
10 Cililitan (E. Jakarta) - Tanjung Priok (N. Jakarta)