Heru Budi Objects to Proposed 24-hour Odd-Even Traffic Policy Plan

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Acting Governor Heru Budi Hartono responded to the plan for a 24-hour odd-even traffic policy in the capital proposed by the Regional Legislative Council (DPR) member from the PDIP faction, Ida Mahmudah, who opined that it could improve the recently deteriorating air quality.

Heru shared a contrasting view, arguing that it would be difficult to extend the existing traffic restriction because of the burden it would place on the people. 

At present, the license plate-based traffic restriction is applied during the morning and evening rush hours on weekdays. 

“I will not extend the odd-even policy to 24 hours. That needs to be studied. We need to think that extending the odd-even policy will certainly make it difficult for people to conduct outdoor activities,” Heru Budi said in his official statement, on August 27, 2023.

However, he believed that the proposal submitted by the city councilor was not entirely wrong but needed thoughtfully considered.

The Provincial Government has made various efforts to curb air pollution. One of them is enforcing the work-from-home or WFH policy for civil servants or ASN. 

“I hope the regional government will immediately evaluate what has been done in the past few days. If the evaluation [of the effectiveness of the existing air pollution control programs] turns out to be low, [Jakarta could] immediately implement odd-even traffic policy that is valid for 24 hours to reduce air pollution,” Ida told reporters last week.

ERWAN HARTAWAN

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