On Car Rules in Jakarta
This article has been modified from its original version. Last update: October 18th.
Jakarta is notorious for its traffic congestion and pollution. There is a causal relationship between these two, in which traffic congestion caused pollution. In short, Jakarta is in urgent need of effective measures to solve these problems.
Before Olympic Games 2008 started, some of us might have read that some athletes uttered complaints about Beijing’s suffocating unfresh air or seen the pictures of Beijing’s gray skies in the newspapers. However, those who were in Beijing during the Olympic Games testified that skies were clearer and cleaner. BBC had an answer for this riddle.
clipped from news.bbc.co.uk
Traffic restrictions have been re-introduced in China’s capital Beijing, in an attempt to bring back the clear skies seen during the Olympics.
Each car must spend one day a week off the road, in a scheme based on registration numbers.
Beijing residents miss the clean air and quiet streets they enjoyed throughout the Games.
The new rules came in to effect on Monday morning - anyone with a license plate ending in one or six could not drive into the city.
On Tuesday it will be the turn of people with number plates ending in 2 and 7.
A similar scheme operated during the Olympics, when factories around the city were also closed to reduce air pollution.
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Actually, in my previous article, I have offered the same solutions like Beijing Municipal Committee of Transportation did. I even said that only cars with license plate ending in odd number could go to the city on Monday while those with license plate ending in even number could on Tuesday. Nevertheless, I myself still doubt whether the same solution is also viable for Jakarta.
How could people commute without car in a city where public transportations are inconvenient and unsafe? To some extent, taxi might be both convenient and safe, but the fares are exorbitant for many. In contrary, taxi’s fares in Beijing are outrageously cheap according to my friends who had lived there. Jakarta’s people might also make two license plates for their cars, one ending in odd number and one in even number. Hey, it is possible in Indonesia. 
Provincial government might need to find an incentive to make people park their cars in garage and use public transportation. Limiting the number of cars one may have can be done by imposing high taxes on the purchase of second cars. Cars which have operated for more than 5 years could also be the subjects of taxation. All these solutions will not work without the betterment of public transportation system.
For further reading, bleu wrote about several suggestions to decrease traffic congestion with busway.
______________UPDATED!
Michael Jubel’s interesting comments made me want to add something here. I think the way Jakarta’s people drive their cars or motorbikes also contributes to traffic congestion. I do have to admit that I have done those driving sins he listed. I am very reluctant to give ways to other drivers, why should I? If they were I, they will not give me either, will they? Selfish? Maybe. Smart? Of course. 
I also love to horn my klaxon. I use it to intimidate other drivers who try to get their cars in front of mine. Why not queuing people?
Well, at least I do not break the traffic rules, I stop when the light is red, I do U-Turn in correct places, etc. Those who break the traffic rules are ones who cause traffic congestion. For instances, they drive slowly in right lane in highway. They must have spent years in the USA. In addition, they here can also mean truck drivers whose speedometers hardly point to above 60 km/hours. These people made some impatient drivers decided to do some high-speed zigzags and ended up in hitting other cars. Another traffic congestion, people will stupidly slowdown their cars to curiously see whether the unlucky drivers are still alive or not.
There are lot of other examples we can think about and do not have to be written down here. After all, I completely agree with this following statement: If you can drive well in Jakarta, you can drive anywhere else in the world.
Image was taken from here.
Tags: Car Rules, Hell on Earth, Jakarta, Pollution, Traffic Congestion
October 15th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Kabarnya,pengemudi mobil di Cina lebih ugal2an ktimbang di Indonesia.
Tapi di sana penegakan hukum masih kuat. Nah klo di Indonesia dibuat policy seperti itu,paling cuman jadi ‘lahan baru’ buat oknum petugas,hehe. Sori,agak apatis
Dony Alfans last blog post..Mencoba Sebuah Tantangan Baru
October 16th, 2008 at 8:13 am
well, i just can’t imagine that the odd-even ending plate number will ever work in Jakarta. There are thousands of cars in Jakarta and it will look so weird if the police are obliged to check the plate number one-by-one. And let us all imagine Indonesian people.. gua yakin beli nomer pelat palsu tuh bakal ada di solusi nomer satu. hahaha..
but i second the high tax solution. and I believe it does work in Europe: Netherlands for example. Anyway, how is this issue in Hungary or Japan?
michaeljubels last blog post..Platformate Theme is now avail…
October 17th, 2008 at 3:27 am
jakartan drivers are the best driver in the world. mari kita pertahankan prestasi tersebut
October 17th, 2008 at 6:30 am
@yonna: i SECONDDDDD that!!! haahahahahaa.. I’ve learned A LOT LOT LOT LOT stuffs from them.
saya belajar untuk jangan pernah memberi jalan pada mobil laen yang mau belok, mau muter di U-turn, mau masuk ke highway dari ramp, dan bahkan mau mundur keluar dari parkiran.
saya juga belajar untuk selalu mempertahankan jalan di depan saya; jangan pernah biarkan mobil lain mengambil jalan tersebut. kalau perlu, belagak ngebut aja dikit supaya mobilnya gak bisa ngambil jalan kita.
dan banyak hal gila lainnya.
bravo.
October 17th, 2008 at 6:35 am
nambahin! berhubung gua masih agak emosi.
saya juga belajar untuk saling berkomunikasi antar mobil dengan menggunakan klakson. kalo ada mobil yang ngasi klakson TET TETT, saya akan balas dengan TET TETT.. kalo klakson mereka TETTT TET TET TETTT TETTT TET TET TET (seperti nada handphone nokia jaman dulu), saya juga akan membalas persis seperti itu. dan beberapa mobil lain juga akan ikut2an seperti demikian. bak orkestra klakson jadinya. hahahahahaha..
that’s the rules. On Car Rules in Jakarta? Hahaha.. gua bukan apatis, bukan juga pesimis, bukan juga melawan hal itu. gua cuman mencari keindahan dan kegilaan yang terkandung di dalamnya. dan itu cukup menarik. hahahaha..
October 17th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Never been to Beijing but once in Shanghai the taxi driver was driving like a maniac and a friend who speaks Mandarin (?) asked him to slow down, he could’ve killed people with the way he drove and the driver said there are millions of Chinese no one would miss one dead man.
Nice.
At least our taxi drivers don’t do such thing.
Finally Wokens last blog post..Let’s Talk About Breasts
October 17th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
@dony:
Hhm, mungkin juga, saya sendiri terakhir ke Cina lebih dari sepuluh tahun lalu, gak ada ide kayak apa sekarang dan gak inget juga waktu itu kayak apa.
@jubel:
In Austria they taxed you highly when you purchase your second cars. I think they only allow you to buy your second cars 5 years after you buy your first one. CMIIW. In Hungary, like Austria, they don’t know thing called traffic congestion, haha.
In Japan, they taxed you highly when your car is older than 5 years. The tax is so high so that you decide to waste it and buy new one. Public transportation system in Japan is also amazing, you got more than 20 subway lines I guess, and almost the same number of train lines, hundreds of bus lines, etc etc.
Japanese typical houses are small, most of them don’t even have garage and have to park their cars in exorbitant parking lot. That’s why they prefer to use public transportation when commuting to work or city center.
Thanks for your interesting comments, I ultimately updated contents of this article.
@yonna:
Betul yonna, seperti yang saya bilang if you can drive well in Jakarta you can drive anywhere else in the world.
@Mbak Anita:
Hahaha, he must be kidding or very rude kind of people.
October 18th, 2008 at 4:52 am
whaaaat?? you actually stop when it’s red??? that’s cute.
but still, my fellow friend, I share you this wisdom: green is speed with style, brotha! yellow is GO SPEED LIKE THERE’S A GIGANTIC KOMODO CHASING YOU! and red is…well it’s just a suggestion.
see? I’m really wise for my age.lol
I say, lebarin tol!! Karena tol yang jalurnya CUMAN DUA cuman ada di Indonesia. kayaknya sih.. I am not THAT berpengetahuan luas… and I don’t know whether that’s possible dari struktur tanah (misal untuk cipularang) atau shit like that, all I know is I WANT THEM WIDER,MOOMMY! WIDER!
di moskow jalan raya saja bahkan punya 6 jalur! tapi ya silahkan bayangkan betapa okhey-nya nyebrang jalan… (nyebrangin 12 jalur wakaka)
about the odd numbers plat thingy, as silly at it may sound, I think it CAN make a difference. I mean, all the great ideas was considered silly and impossible at first kan? lagian kan sekarang udah ada peraturan yang mengncourage orang melaporkan polisi yang minta uang jajan, bukan?
dan satu lagi, meskipun ini bakal merugikan saya sendiri but I think it might help: biaya parkir mall dan gedug perkantoran dimahalin semahal-mahalnya mahal bisa mahal aja! duitnya bagi dua antara si sunparking sama buat negara. gimana?
yoanityas last blog post..when talking to a PMSing snob, filter it!
October 18th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
When I visited Paris in the eighties I was sure the traffic was sheer lunacy.
When I came to Bangkok in the nineties I was sure nobody could survive longer than two years. Either one would die of polluted air or by a lethal car accident.
When I stayed for a while in Jakarta two years ago I was sure I loved the hustle and bustle of the city, the marvelous food which is on offer everywhere and the people. But as for the traffic - sheer anarchy, dereliction of roads and road signs, aggressive behavior, gigantic traffic jams. Hell on earth, in short. Yet, remarkable few serious traffic accidents.
Yes, Yonna (3) is right: Jakarta drivers have to be the world champions.
(PS: The registration plate scheme is a good one. But it can only work in a autocratic system, I’m afraid. I wouldn’t recommend that)
colsons last blog post..Fly safe
October 19th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I couldn’t imagine if I have to live in Jakarta. Bandung’s traffic is stressing enough for me…
On the even-odd idea, I think it is not gonna be effective enough considering Jakarta’s car population, but we could give it a try, it’s not that hard to implement this rule.
Yonna, I think widening the road will not help the city in a long term. I’ve been to Beijing’s main road near the Wang Fu Jing area where they have 12 lanes and traffic jam is still a huge problem..and it costs us a lot to that. I think we could use the high-tax rate idea effectively..
Oh…and btw…I tried your gigantic-komodo stuff near the TELKOM Japati traffic light in Bandung, and out of nowhere, a police came out from a warung and stopped me!! *so please be careful for those of you who lives in Bandung*
You know what I did?? I couldn’t stop giggling because a voice in my head keep saying “tell the police there’s a gigantic komodo on the back of the car!!! Run for your life!! RUUUN…!!!” BWAHAHA…
But eventually he didn’t fine me. Not because I managed to convince him about the komodo, but because I told him that I don’t have enough money to pay the fine on-the-spot *which is exactly where they get the money from*. So…lesson learned..!
October 19th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
@yoanitya: lo makan apa sih pas bayi??! hahahahahahaha.. sumpah deh gaya ngomong lu bikin gua ngakak! hahahaha..
kemarin itu “orgasmic”, sekarang “komodo”. sumpah!
michaeljubels last blog post..Platformate Theme is now avail…
October 20th, 2008 at 3:31 am
@Mike
nah itu makanya gue pernah nyaranin elo untuk nyimpen balsem di mobil, supaya bisa dipake pas kaki pegel2 akibat kelamaan maen kopling, gas, rem
@Colson
have you tried driving in Jakarta, Sir? If never, then you should try and I’ll give you that trophy as best driver in the world hehehe.
@Andika
eh maksudnya Yoanitya kali bukan Yonna, yang ngomong pelebaran jalan dll itu Yoanitya. Ah…gue sendiri tadinya juga ngira Yoanitya sebagai Yonna, siwer gitu deehh
October 21st, 2008 at 6:36 am
Andika Putraditamas last blog post..Palin: “Place in Hell reserved for women who don’t support other women”
October 25th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
@Yoanitya: Yes, I do stop when the light is red, police stopped me once in Sudirman when I unconsciously crossed red light and we involved in long argument on whether I should be fined or not.
Ngelebarin jalan tol kayaknya susah juga bukan, mungkin kalau Cipularang bisa, kalau jalan tol dalam kota mah udah gak mungkin lagi.
Soal naikin biaya parkir, that’s what Japanese government does, haha.
@colson:
It really fits the reality.
I was in Bangkok ten years ago and I remember I could even play chess in the car since the car couldn’t move fast due to the traffic jam. We’ll be able to do that in Jakarta very soon. Anyway, you coined one perfect term for Jakarta, Hell on Earth.
@Andika:
Isn’t that because they have more cars there?
November 5th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
I just realized you were using “Hell on Earth” as tag on this post, it was kinda cracked me up!
November 6th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
@Calvin:
Colson was the first one to use that term.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I AM BACK!! hehehe
btw… dah ketinggalan info2 uptodate nih
hmm hmmm.. pengendara di indonesia itu paling mantab… bayangin aja, ga ada deh di luar negeri sono yang angkotnya bisa ngebut nyalip jalan sempit, ngerem mendadak, dan mendadak jemping… sampe saat ini blom ada sih yang loncat macan nembus kaca depan gara2 ngerem mendadak. tapi ya itu tadi… pengendara indonesia itu mantab..
klo mo ikutin peraturan kaya di china, tuh kayaknya susyeeeh.. plat mobilnya aja bisa dibuat2 kok… apa sih yang ga bisa di indonesia hahaha
btw tingkat polusi meninggi, kadar Pb di udara meningkat, bisa bikin mandul karena jumlah sperma berkurang
November 16th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
@adite:
Paling seru tuh mandangin barisan mobil dari atas jembatan penyeberangan, berantakan banget pada barisnya, haha.
November 17th, 2008 at 9:36 am
@Yuki:
hahahaha ibu2 hamil klo liat itu gue jamin langsung motion sickness, trus muntah dan ngelahirin spontan (anda terlalu berlebihan sekali tampaknya hahaha)
December 2nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
geeeesss, i only go to jakarta for holidays,…. thank god i live in surabaya.
they say : red light means “STEP ON IT”
mystery shoppers last blog post..Let them know what they eat
December 7th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
@mystery shopper:
Well, Bataknese says “ah, belum merah merah kali itu”. 
Hahah.