TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jalan Rasuna Said or Kuningan, South Jakarta, will not be subjected to motorcycle restriction, Jakarta Transportation Office head Andri Yansyah said. He reasoned that the office has not set alternative roads and the construction works in the area will make it difficult to implement the rule.

According to Andri, wider implementation of motorcycle restriction should be done gradually. Jakarta Transportation Office plans to trial the rule from HI Roundabouts to Senayan Roundabouts by early September for about two weeks to a month.

Jakarta administration claimed that motorcycle restriction in the main roads is aimed at addressing congestion. However, transportation observer Darmaningtyas said that the rule will not be effective to achieve it.

“It will only reduce chaos,” Darmaningtyas said after attending a forum group discussion on motorcycle restriction yesterday in Jakarta. He said that Jalan MH Thamrin and Sudirman that connect HI and Senayan Roundabouts are national main roads. “It’s not about addressing congestion, but how to manage Jalan Sudirman-Thamrin as the face of Jakarta to be free of motor vehicles,” he said.

Nevertheless, Darmaningtiyas support the trial. He said that public transport in the area is running relatively well.

The observer, however, suggests that Jakarta administration delay the implementation of the motorcycle restriction trial on Jalan Rasuna Said, citing ongoing infrastructure projects, such as mass rapid transit, light rapid transit, overpass and underpass.

FRISKI RIANA