TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Acting-Head of Jakarta’s Department of Transportation Sigit Wijatmoko said that the city’s reduced levels of traffic congestion can be traced to seven innovations the administration imposed since 2017.

Sigit’s claim was backed by a recent survey by the world’s live congestion statistics provider TomTom Traffic Index that measured an 8 percent drop in traffic congestion in 2017-2018. This effectively improves Jakarta’s position as the world’s fourth most congested city to the seventh.

“The TomTOm survey is based on the Governor’s development in the field of transportation,” said Sigit to Tempo on Sunday, June 16.

Sigit also announced that the city will introduce new modes of transports in the upcoming years such as the newly tested and publically introduced MRT and LRT.

The seven transportation solutions introduced by the Jakarta administration in the aforementioned period of time were:

1. Multiple constructions of urban underpasses and flyovers such as the Matraman underpass and Kuningan underpass.
2. Shutting down railway level crossings in Tanjung Barat and Gaplok Market in Senen.
3. The odd-even number plate policy that was introduced to a wider traffic area together with an extended period of time.
4. Redesigns of major streets in downtown Jakarta such as Thamrin and Sudirman that saw those streets widened without a special low-speed lane.
5. The introduction of the Jak Lingko interconnected transportation solution which also acts as a means to prevent public transports from carelessly stopping to get passengers.
6. Opening new routes covered by the Transjakarta bus fleets and integrating them with other urban transportations under the Jak Lingko program. The newly introduced MRT and LRT will also be included in the city’s integrated transportation network.
7. Jakarta’s administration together with stakeholders such as BPTJ and the city’s Department of Transportation together develop means of transports from residential areas to the downtown urban areas.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH