Indonesia pushes remote work, LRT travel in 'persistently congested' Jakarta before Asean summit
As Jakarta gears up to host the leaders of Asean and other countries at two meetings next week, the Indonesian capital city is hoping to curb its long-standing problems with traffic congestion and air pollution with remote work policies and a new light rail service.
Indonesia is this year's chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and next week's meeting involves a summit of the grouping's national leaders, as well as the East Asia Summit (EAS) that will include representatives of major powers including China, the United States, Russia and India.
On Monday, President Joko Widodo launched the country's latest light rail transit network, the LRT Jabodebek, which connects a main business district in central Jakarta with two satellite cities in the West Java province - Depok and Bekasi.
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"Jakarta has persistently ranked among the world's 10 most congested cities," Widodo said at the opening. "Every day, 996,000 vehicles enter Jakarta, causing traffic jams and pollution. We hope people will take to the LRT in droves ... so that we can avoid traffic congestion and reduce pollution."
The 32.6 trillion rupiah (US$2.1 billion) project is Indonesia's third light rail network, and was supposed to start running for the 2018 Asian Games, but the project was delayed over funding and land acquisition constraints. Now that it is up and running, the LRT can carry up to 500,000 passengers a day.
With the Asean and world leaders arriving in the capital city for the September 5-7 summit, Jakarta is also implementing remote working policies for thousands of civil servants and school students to curb traffic congestion.
Jakarta's acting governor Heru Budi Hartono said last Wednesday that at least 75 per cent of civil servants in South and Central Jakarta would work remotely from September 4. He also appealed to private-sector firms to follow the government's example and set similar work-from-home policies.
Additionally, more than 700 schools in the same parts of the city would need distance-learning plans, he said.
Half of Jakarta's civil servants have already been working remotely under a policy enacted earlier this month, following a report by Swiss tech firm IQAir that named Jakarta as the world's most polluted city.
Widodo convened ministers to deal with the air pollution ahead of the summit, as he dealt with his own month-long cough that has been also attributed to the city's pollution levels.
In his speech at the LRT inauguration, Widodo urged commuters in the city to make more use of public transport facilities.
But with the LRT's limited coverage area, it has not been easy to persuade the city's residents to switch from private vehicles to public transit options, Widodo said.
Widodo said Indonesia's single mass rapid transit system (MRT), which spans 16km (10 miles) between south and central Jakarta, currently only carries 80,000 people per day, which is well below its maximum capacity of 180,000.
Ple Priatna, a former Indonesian diplomat, said that while the new public transport systems were a cheaper and faster option for some, it had limitations.
"Unfortunately, the new LRT does not connect the people living in the south part of Jakarta, south Tangerang, to the centre of Jakarta," he said.
Meanwhile, the delegates attending the Asean summit will also be transported around the city using electric buses and cars, according to Secretary of the Ministry of State Secretariat Setya Utama.
He said that besides reducing air pollution, the use of the electric vehicles would also demonstrate Indonesia's commitment to its climate goals and pushing for net-zero emissions.
Utama said logistical arrangements and the placement of decorations around the city would be completed in time for the summit by September 3.
Ple also said the new measures to curb traffic and pollution were merely a stop-gap with the approaching summit, and the delegates visiting Jakarta "will not see the problems" commuters face in the city daily.
General traffic in the roads surrounding the Jakarta Convention Centre, where the summit is set to be held, will be diverted and blocked to ensure the Asean leaders and delegates will be able to move around smoothly in the area.
Some meetings will also be held at the St Regis Jakarta Hotel, and a gala dinner for the Asean leaders and delegates will be hosted at the Gelora Bung Karno City Forest, a green urban area located near the city centre.
Asean leaders typically meet twice a year, but this second meeting - being held earlier than usual this year - includes the EAS, where national leaders of the bloc's main trading partners also participate.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a media briefing on Monday that the summit would be attended by representatives from 22 Asean partners and EAS member countries.
Members from at least nine international bodies, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, would also be present.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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