Southeast Asian capitals need more anti-traffic champs

Southeast Asian capitals need more anti-traffic champs

Southeast Asia's congested capitals could use more anti-traffic champions such as Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo. When the Indonesian government gave tax breaks on low-cost "green cars" in June, Mr Widodo opposed the policy, saying it would sabotage his efforts to solve the city's chronic traffic problem.

This picture taken on Oct 22 shows motorists trapped in a rush hour gridlock in Jakarta. (AFP Photo)

"I reject this policy because Jakarta is already congested," Mr Widodo said. "This is not right."

While the tax incentive ostensibly promotes the use of small, energy-efficient vehicles and attracts Japanese investment to Indonesia, it also results in more cars on the road.

Indonesia's Association of Automotive Industries predicts that car sales will reach 1.1 million this year, with many of them ending up in Jakarta. The capital already has 28 million registered motorcycles and 5 million cars moving at an average traffic speed of 10 kilometres per hour.

In Bangkok, the number of newly registered passenger cars hit 456,000 last year, a 10% increase over 2011 figures, as a direct result of a populist government policy. Traffic worsened.

Part of the Pheu Thai Party's campaign in the 2011 election was a promise of a tax rebate of 100,000 baht on all first car purchases.

Some 1.2 million Thais took advantage of the scheme, adding 245,000 more cars to Bangkok's already notorious gridlock.

The capital had a total of 4.4 million registered vehicles and 2.8 million motorcycles at the end of 2012, according to Land Transport Department figures.

"This policy was created by politicians to get votes," said Wichit Nimitwanit, director of the Transport and Traffic System Development Bureau. "They didn't consider the impact on traffic, energy consumption and the environment."

Luckily the scheme lasted only a year, but the policy runs counter to Bangkok's master plan of promoting alternatives to cars in the city, he said.

"For governments, a useful strategy can be to reward the people who use public transport, walking and cycling and to make them feel that they are doing the right thing," said Stefan Bakker, an urban transport expert at the German government development agency GIZ.

"If you could get that message across to the people, that would help a lot," said Mr Bakker, who leads a GIZ team providing technical assistance to Southeast Asian governments on policy-making for energy efficient transport systems in the region.

A crucial step towards better, energy-efficient urban transport, is the construction of mass rapid transit systems. Most Southeast Asian capitals have initiated such systems.

Jakarta finally got on the bandwagon this month, when Mr Widodo kicked off construction on two major public transport projects - a mass rapid transit (MRT) system and a monorail - after years of squabbling over funding.

The MRT train service will consist of two lines of underground and above-ground stations and is expected to be operational in 2018.

"The MRT and monorail will be effective in reducing private cars on Jakarta's roads but the projects won't be completed in five years," said Yoga Adiwinarto, Indonesia country director for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy.

Emergency measures will be needed before then.

As a start, next year Mr Widodo has vowed to introduce an electronic road-pricing system that will automatically charge toll fees on cars on some of Jakarta's main roads.

"People should be made to think that driving in Jakarta is too expensive and because of that they will switch to public transport," Mr Adiwinarto said.

That is a message that needs to be conveyed regionwide.

In Bangkok, much more could be done to promote the use of the existing mass rapid transit systems, not to mention the not-so-rapid buses.

Bangkok's fleet of 7,500 buses currently carries 1 million people a day, making them the most popular form of transport for commuters in the capital after private cars.

The Transport Ministry is working on improving bus routes to offer better connectivity and introducing new buses next year to attract more passengers, said Chula Sukmanop, director of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.

Financial stimuli might be needed, such as reduced fares on mass transits or buses with government subsidies.

"In Singapore, for people who ride the mass transit before 7.45am it's free, to ease the use at rush hour," said Sorawit Narupiti, head of the faculty of engineering at Chulalongkorn University.

"Mass transit is the long-term solution, but we could use such systems this year or next year. But in our political system nobody takes a chance to lose votes," he said.

Mr Widodo, who has consistently polled at the top of potential presidential candidates for next year's election, bucks this trend.

"It takes time to change the mindsets of decision makers, although there are some exceptions," said Roland Haas, GIZ director of the Asean-German Technical Cooperation on Cities, Enviroment and Transport. "It depends on champions."

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