Tackling Jakarta’s Traffic Woes with Congestion Pricing

Written by Kuang Jin Yi and Teo Jing Kok

Drivers in Jakarta spend more than a quarter of their travel time idling and average 33,000 stops and starts per year—the highest number in the world. This is a consequence of the congested streets in the capital city of Indonesia, a result of an explosive population growth and inadequate road infrastructure. Traffic jams are estimated to cost Jakarta an estimated USD5 billion annually for fuel consumption, vehicle operation cost, time value, and air pollution.

In recent years, the Jakarta government has taken steps to remedy this situation. A bus rapid transport system called TransJakarta has been introduced and the city is constructing mass rapid transit and light rail transit systems to increase public transport coverage. In August 2016, an even-odd traffic control policy was implemented, allowing only even vehicles to enter certain corridors during even days, and vice versa. In early 2018, Jakarta opened its first airport rail link so that commuters can travel between the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and the city centre in 55 minutes. Most recently, plans have been unveiled to implement an Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system similar to Singapore.

The plan on the ERP system was presented at the 2016 Temasek Foundation International Leaders in Urban Governance Programme (TFILUGP) by three senior officials from the Jakarta government. After this event organised by the CLC and funded by Temasek Foundation International (TFI), a CLC team collaborated with the Jakarta government, the Jakarta Property Institute (JPI) and TFI to visit the city and conduct a workshop and training programmes.

Lessons from Singapore’s ERP
At the day-long workshop led by Prof Gopinath Menon, a CLC expert on transportation policies, Ms Grace Ong, Director of Transportation of Land Transport Authority, and Phang Chong Sun, expert on ERP technologies, close to 90 mid-to-senior level officials participated in discussions on congestion pricing and management, taking into consideration real-life challenges when implementing and refining congestion pricing policies.

The officials also heard about Singapore’s land transportation journey, transport strategies, congestion pricing and the application of technology in congestion pricing system. Several key lessons were emphasised to the audience by the speakers from Singapore:

• The ERP system is not a platform for the government to make revenue. It should be treated and implemented as a traffic managing solution and this should be communicated to the public. 

• The ERP system will only be effective as part of a total transportation package instead of a single policy. 

• Alternative traveling options for the public have also to be implemented together with the ERP. These include developing road networks that by-pass the Central Business District, managing demand of vehicles, improving the public transport system and ensuring its affordability.  

The workshop received much support and positive feedback from the Jakarta Government. Both Governor Anies Baswedan and Vice-Governor Sandiaga Uno graced the closing and the opening of the workshop respectively and expressed their hopes to see more of such workshops and said the ERP system would be implemented in Jakarta in 2018 or 2019.

Besides the workshop on congestion pricing, the CLC also conducted three training programmes on development and building control for the Jakarta city officials. These were co-funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore and JPI. The CLC is continuing to work closely with the Jakarta Government and JPI to explore possible knowledge-sharing collaborations in the future.

About the Writers

Kuang Jin Yi

Jin Yi is a Manager at the CLC, where her research focuses on urban systems studies related to greening, water and energy. She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the National University of Singapore.

Teo Jing Kok

Jing Kok’s past portfolios include overseeing the Singapore’s Land Sales Programmes, revising the Residential Property Act to prevent land speculation and amending the Strata Title Act to make it progressively harder to initiate ‘en bloc’ after failed attempts. He was one of the town planners that designed the first phase of the Suzhou Industrial Town in China and also formulated the framework for the Minister to approve URA’s newly formulated Development Guide Plans to become Singapore’s Master Plan.