Jakarta speeds up electronic road pricing policy to reduce congestion

The Jakarta Provincial Government is taking a series of measures, including implementing an electronic road pricing (ERP) policy, to lessen congestion in the capital city.
Vehicles pass on road sections in Kuningan, South Jakarta (Photo: https://en.antaranews.com/)
Vehicles pass on road sections in Kuningan, South Jakarta (Photo: https://en.antaranews.com/)

Head of the Jakarta Transportation Office Syafrin Liputo said the agency is currently drafting an electronic traffic control regulation to apply to the ERP system on 25 inner-city and inter-provincial roads to reduce congestion.

It has also encouraged the use of public transport, contributing to increasing the sustainability in urban traffic management.

Syafrin emphasised the urgency of electronic traffic control, as the investment rate in urban infrastructure is much lower than the increasing number of personal vehicles.

The ERP has been implemented by Singapore since 1998 and is one of the most effective methods to deal with traffic jams since then.

In 2019, Jakarta was one of the 10 most congested cities in the world. It applied a number of measures to address the issue but they did not bring long-term effects for the city.

VNA