Get It Right is a weekly column offering practical and informative advice on the complexities of urban transportation.
The debate over Jakarta's bike lanes has heated up once again after Jakarta transport authorities abandoned conical bike lane dividers and downgraded them to reflective cathodes/road supports. The reactions from non-bike lane users are not surprising, ranging from calls for the complete elimination of bike lanes as a waste of infrastructure.
Ironically, air pollution continues to plague Jakarta, affecting both the poor and the rich. Cycling, in addition to walking, is one of the few means of transportation that does not produce exhaust gases, which are the main cause of air pollution in Jakarta.
Congestion in Jakarta causes an economic loss of Rp100 trillion (US$6.3 billion) annually, according to 2019 data from the National Development Planning Agency and the second phase of the 2019 Urban Transportation Policy Integration of the Greater Jakarta. According to the Indonesian National Police and Statistics, in 2019. This data came before the development of protected bicycle lanes in Jakarta, such as in Sudirman, so it is absurd to say that bicycle lanes cause traffic accidents with motorcycles and cars in Jakarta.
Various studies conducted by different organizations show that transportation is the largest contributor to air pollution in Jakarta, with motorcycles and cars being the most important.
According to data from the Jakarta Environment Agency and Vital Strategies 2020, the transportation sector, as the largest contributor, is responsible for 67.03 percent of PM2.5 emissions. Thus, while some Jakarta residents complain about air quality and traffic, they fight against motor vehicles, the main cause of air pollution, and call for the elimination of bicycles that promote ecological travel. Where is the logic in that?
For more than a decade, Jakarta residents have been served by four rail lines: MRT, LRT Jakarta, LRT Jabodebek and KRL Commuter Line, and a public bus system, Transjakarta. You can see the gap in the quality of these services in the Lebak Pulse area, where angkot (public minibuses) can still be seen along with electric buses and MRT trains. The saturation of services in Jakarta shows that public transportation in Jakarta is much better than in other areas of Indonesia.
So why is there still congestion and air pollution? Since there are no strict regulations to control the use of private cars in Jakarta, they are the main polluters.
Bike lanes are a promising option to reduce the prevalence of cars and motorcycles in the city. Bike lanes allow you to travel by bicycle on your daily trips. The development of dedicated bicycle lanes indicates that road space is not limited only to cars and motorcycles. This division of space is essential when cities want to give priority to cyclists and pedestrians in a city based on zero-emission cars.
Bike lanes protect all cyclists, regardless of gender, age or skill level. Combined with public transport, it can make it easier for cyclists to travel long distances through mixed mobility. In addition, properly designed cycle paths can also cover short journeys (less than 5 km), which are currently dominated by motorcycles.
2017 data from the Greater Jakarta Transportation Agency (BPTJ) of the Ministry of Transportation shows that of the 10 million car and motorcycle trips made in Jakarta every day, more than 44 percent are trips of less than 10 kilometres.
If this many cars and motorcycles were replaced by bicycles and public transport, how many millions of tonnes of carbon and pollutants would be saved from Jakarta's air and how much money would we save by reducing congestion?
These huge numbers don't include how motorcycles and cars reduce your and future generations' chances of owning a home in the city, as inner-city neighborhoods are filled with empty parking spaces for cars and motorcycles.
Jakartans have to work to get to work, spending hours in traffic, whether with their cars, motorcycles or public transportation, because we believe that cars and motorcycles are the only means of transportation in the city. Therefore, there is an urgent need for strict regulations to control the use of motor vehicles to reduce air pollution and the growth of greenhouse gases for a liveable and inclusive city.
- Do you have any questions about urban transportation? Send it to wir@thejakartapost.com with your name and current location (anonymous submissions will also be considered). Please note that Jakarta Post reserves the right to edit your submissions for publication.
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General Director of Communications and Cooperation of the Transport and Development Policy Institute (TDPID) .
Do you have questions about public transportation? Send it to wir@thejakartapost.com with your name and current location (anonymous submissions will also be considered). Please note that Jakarta Post reserves the right to edit your submissions for publication.
