Jakarta Deputy Governor Comments on Recent Traffic Jam in Capital

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria said the provincial government has not yet planned to reimpose the vehicle restriction policy based on the license plate number dubbed odd-even policy despite recent traffic jams in the capital.

“We will consider [reintroducing the traffic policy]. But so far, the policy we have taken (dropping the policy) has gone through a process of research, discussion, and survey studies. We always hear inputs from all parties,” said Riza in Jakarta, Wednesday, April 7, 2021.

According to the city’s Transportation Agency, this is due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The agency head Syafrin Liputo said the traffic policy has not been yet implemented given the rising rate of confirmed cases in the capital so that the use of public transportation is still limited.

“The number of passengers of public transport is limited to a maximum of 50 percent of the capacity. If there is congestion [which is caused by private vehicles], they are in their own car so there is no interaction between people,” Riza added.

The removal of the odd-even policy has been in effect since March 16, 2020, or the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Recently, citizens criticized the absence of the policy that has been for more than a year following traffic jams in the last few days.

Read: Jakarta Claims Success in Easing Traffic Congestion

ANTARA