Electric motorcycles ride to rescue in fuel-short Cuba

Yahoo – AFP, Carlos BATISTA, November 8, 2019

Electric motorcycle riders have come to the rescue of Cuban passengers
delayed by fuel shortages (AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Havana (AFP) - It is rush hour in Havana and the queue at the bus stop is longer than ever. Then a fleet of electric motorcycles appears, beeping their horns.

Surprised and relieved, passengers jump on the backs of the 50 or so electric mopeds.

It is a new solution for Cubans struggling with fuel shortages driven by US sanctions that have curbed oil imports.

Cuba has long been known for the classic American cars that people here lovingly maintain decades after they stopped being built.

But urban transport on the communist island is evolving.

The bikes' horns beep and some of the riders play reggaeton music -- but, being electric, their motors make hardly any noise.

A Chinese-made electric motorcycle costs between $1,800 and $2,300 in Cuba. A basic petrol-powered bike on the island can cost up to six times that.

Authorities estimate there are 210,000 electric motorcyles in use in Cuba 

(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Volunteer riders

The electric bikes -- with a maximum speed of about 50 kilometers (30 miles) per hour -- were first licensed for import in 2013.

They have multiplied in the streets since then -- and have come into their own with the recent fuel shortages.

"I really like this initiative, it helps a lot with the economy," says passenger Yanet Figueroa, 42, sitting on the back of one of the bikes.

"It really helps people who have great need of it."

Cuba plunged into a fuel crisis in September after Washington imposed restrictions on fuel shipments from Cuba's top ally Venezuela.

Cuba had to make do in September with just 30 percent of its usual fuel supply and the level has still not recovered -- it is forecast to reach no more than 80 percent this month.

With the public transport network badly hit, President Miguel Diaz-Canel has called on drivers to pick up passengers voluntarily.

The owners of electric bikes known as "motorinas" answered the call.

"We have volunteered to do this as a service to society," says one of the drivers, Javier Capote, 33.

"It is going very well. We are very happy about it."

The president himself during a televised address mentioned "those famous... what do you call them, the bikes? The 'motorinas', that have come out to help."

Mechanics have work to do servicing Cuba's fleet of electric motorcycles

(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Electric bike era

Cuban authorities estimate there are 210,000 electric motorcycles currently in use on the island.

That figure is expected to rise as the government in late October began to sell them with the price capped at $1,700.

Those who make a living servicing the bikes are pleased by that move as it will bring down costs.

"It seems like a very good idea to us mechanics," says one, Enrique Alfonso, 47, in his workshop.

He recalls the economic crisis of the 1990s that followed the end of cheap imports from the Soviet Union.

"That was the era of (affordable) Chinese bicycles. Now we are in the era of electric motorcycles," he says.

"With everything that is going on the country, they have become obtainable for a lot of people."

Members of the Electric Motorcycles of Cuba club ride passengers home

(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Accidents

The electric bikes had a mixed reception at first. Silent and often inexpertly ridden, they are often involved in accidents in a country that already suffers from thousands of crashes a year.

Officials say that of the 7,000 road accidents recorded so far this year, a third have involved electric motorcycles.

Authorities have responded by insisting riders have a license and register their vehicles.

The flourishing of electric bikes follows several years of gradual opening-up of Cuba's state-run economy. It has also coincided with a digital mini-revolution.

Thanks to the availability of 3G-standard internet connections since last year, riders can network more easily.

The 3G connections helped spawn the Electric Motorbikes of Cuba online group, a club with more than 80 members.

It started out as a club for enthusiasts seeking to have "healthy fun and share the passion we all have for electric motorcycles and road safety," says its president Osdany Fleites, a 37-year-old taxi driver.

"The motorcycles do not pollute the environment, they do not make a noise," he says.

Now the club has evolved to have an environmental and "social purpose."

Along with another club, Eracing, its members take part in rescuing bus passengers stuck due to the fuel shortages.

They have also taken part in environmental clean-up jobs, helping eradicate an infestation of troublesome giant snails in Havana, donated blood and visited children in a cancer ward.

VIDEO: 🇨🇺 Electric motorcycles are providing a new solution for #Cubans struggling with fuel shortages driven by US sanctions that have curbed oil imports https://t.co/VhwAuWCCIS pic.twitter.com/9fAmyc0W57

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 8 november 2019

No cause found for fatal Stint crash, says public prosecutor

DutchNews, July 5, 2019

Two stints in action. Photo: Stintum.nl 

Dutch public prosecutors have said that the woman who was driving an electric Stint vehicle when it crashed into a train at Oss, killing four young children, apparently did everything she could to stop the vehicle. 

Menno Buntsma, a laywer who is representing the 33-year-old woman from Heesch, told Oproep Brabant that she was ‘relieved and emotional’ at the announcement. 

The OM prosecution service said in a news release that nine months after the fatal accident, it has not been able to find a specific cause. It said that witnesses confirmed that the driver ‘had done everything possible to stop the Stint in order to stop a collision.’ 

A technical investigation has found no clues about what went wrong and the NFI Dutch forensic institute is currently investigating the vehicle’s motor controller. 

Two children of four, one of six and another of eight died in the accident in September last year. An 11-year-old and the driver were seriously wounded. 

Transport minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen immediately banned the electric wagons – used by hundreds of daycare centres to ferry children around. New tough safety regulations agreed by MPs this year mean Stints will need technical upgrades and will then be allowed back on the roads in autumn, carrying eight children rather than 10. 

The OM says, however, that until the investigation is fully complete, it has made no decision about whether or not to pursue a prosecution.

Court upholds electric wagon road ban, says safety must come first

DutchNews, November 1, 2018

Two Stints in action. Photo: Stintum.nl

Judges in Utrecht have upheld the transport minister’s decision to ban the electric wagons known as Stints from the Dutch roads. 

The minister imposed the ban shortly after last month’s fatal accident in which four children died when a wagon ploughed into a train. It is thought that the brakes had failed. 

Thursday’s court case was brought by a daycare centre which claims the minister had not taken users of the Stint sufficiently into account in reaching her decision. Hundreds of daycare centres in the Netherlands have been forced to find alternative ways of moving children from place to place because of the ban. 

‘The claim that the minister acted in a panic is not correct,’ the court said. ‘The minister has explained that the decision was taken on the grounds of traffic safety and that this had priority over all other interests.’ 

Stint Urban Mobility, which makes the electric carts, has since gone bankrupt. 

The formal investigation into the vehicle safety is due at the end of the year.

US to require recreational drones to be registered

Yahoo – AFP, 19 Oct 2015

Drones fly at the 2015 International Consumer Eletronics Show at the Las

Vegas Convention Center on January 8, 2015 (AFP Photo/Ethan Miller)

Washington (AFP) - Owners of recreational drones in the United States will soon have to register them with authorities, the government said Monday, as the popular devices are increasingly seen as a hazard in the skies.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) head Michael Huerta told a joint news conference they were setting up a task force to move ahead with the plans.

"We do intend to move very quickly," Foxx said.

"It is my hope that the task force will complete its recommendations in the middle part of November, with the goal of having some rules in place by the middle part of December."

"This year pilots have reported seeing unmanned aircraft twice as frequently as they did in 2014," he told reporters in explaining the decision.

The risk of collision with aircraft is a key concern, but the proliferation of drones has also raised fears over security and privacy.

Earlier this month, a man was fined for flying a small drone over Washington's National Mall and landing it near the White House, thought to be the third such incident this year.

Firefighters combatting wildfires in California this summer urged people to stop flying drones to film the blazes, saying they were getting in the way of their helicopters and planes.

A drone also crashed into empty seats in a stadium at the US Open tennis tournament in New York in September.

Related Article:

Accidents involving drones on the rise

Accidents involving drones on the rise

DutchNews.nl, June 23, 2015

A burning drone on a country road

Transport ministry inspectors received 27 reports of accidents involving small unmanned aircraft, or drones, last year, according to a new report. 

In 2013 there were 15 accidents and in 2012 just eight, the ministry says. Most of the incidents were reported by manned aircraft and professional drone users. 

The true figure is likely to be far higher because not all incidents are reported, the NRC points out. 

In total, 11 incidents last year involved a crash landing close to people or buildings 

Rules

New rules governing the use of drones come into effect later this year. A mini drone will not be allowed to fly higher than 50 metres or 100 metres from the controller. 

Drones will also have to keep a distance of 50 metres from people, buildings and other unmanned aircraft. Nor can drones be flown within five kilometres of airports.

Transport Ministry Says AirAsia License Incomplete for Route

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Jan 03, 2015

An Indonesian Air Force official shows a map to journalists of the search area for
 the missing Malaysian air carrier AirAsia flight QZ8501, at the airport in Surabaya,
East Java, on Dec. 29, 2014. (AFP Photo/Juni Kriswanto)

Jakarta. The AirAsia plane that crashed off Indonesia was flying on an unauthorised schedule, the country’s transport ministry said on Saturday, adding it had now frozen the airline’s permission to fly the route.

As two large parts of the plane were found on the sea bed late on Friday by the international search team, director general of air transport Djoko Murjatmodjo said the doomed airliner’s flight time had not been cleared by officials.

Flight 8501 crashed into the Java Sea with 162 people on board en route from Indonesia’s second city Surabaya to Singapore early on Sunday.

“It violated the route permit given, the schedule given, that’s the problem,” he told AFP. “AirAsia’s permit for the route has been frozen because it violated the route permit given.”

He said the permit would be frozen until investigations were completed.

A statement from transport ministry spokesman JA Barata said AirAsia was not permitted to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route on Sundays and had not asked to change its schedule.

It was unclear how the airliner had been able to fly without the necessary authorisation.

The plane was operated by AirAsia Indonesia, a unit of Malaysia-based AirAsia, which previously had a solid safety record.

On Saturday, the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said that two large parts of the plane had been found in the search area at depth of around 30m, raising hopes that its black boxes will be recovered soon.

Bambang Soelistyo told reporters in Jakarta that the multinational search team came across the objects off the island of Borneo late on Friday night.

“With the discovery of an oil spill and two big parts of the aircraft, I can assure you these are the parts of the AirAsia plane we have been looking for,” Soelistyo said.

He said the larger of the objects was around 10m x 5m.

“As I speak we are lowering an ROV [remotely operated underwater vehicle] underwater to get an actual picture of the objects detected on the sea floor. All are at the depth of 30 metres,” Soelistyo said.

He added however that a strong current was making it difficult to operate the ROV.

The families of victims have been preparing funerals as the bodies recovered are identified in Surabaya, where a crisis centre has been set up at a police hospital with facilities to store 150 bodies.

Before take-off, the pilot of Flight 8501 had asked for permission to fly at a higher altitude to avoid a storm, but the request was not approved due to other planes above him on the popular route, according to AirNav, Indonesia’s air traffic control.

In his last communication shortly before all contact was lost, he said he wanted to change course to avoid the menacing storm system.

Agence France-Presse

The country's transport ministry said the ill-fated aircraft had been flying on

 an unauthorised schedule when it crashed, and the airline has now been suspended

 from flying the route from the city of Surabaya to Singapore. (AFP Photo/

Manan Vatsyayana)

Related Article:

Indonesia to Evaluate All Airlines Following AirAsia License Questions

Going Dutch? Berkshire site tests Netherlands cycling model

Experiments gauge how British pedestrians and motorists react to pioneering Dutch-style bike infrastructure

The Guardian, Peter Walker, Monday 26 August 2013

The Transport Research Laboratory, near Bracknell, Berkshire, tests a
Dutch-style roundabout. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

It is a sunny morning in the Berkshire woodland and a small group of men and women clutching clipboards are lurking behind trees or amid the ferns, looking alert and expectant. Then the object of their attention comes into view: not a shy songbird or a rare mammal, but a cyclist clad in a fluorescent bib.

Followed closely by a small car, the rider stops by traffic lights at a road junction set somewhat incongruously amid the trees. Another bike-and-car duo rolls into view at the other side. The various lights turn green, and everyone heads cautiously on their way.

This is the test ground of the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) near Bracknell, and the closely watched traffic flows are part of a pioneering project that could fundamentally change Britain's inner cities over the next few decades.

TRL, formerly part of the Department for Transport but now a world-leading independent research group, is conducting a £4m test programme for Transport for London (TfL) to see how Dutch-style cycling infrastructure, such as segregated lanes and cyclist-priority roundabouts, can be adapted to British road conditions.

Work has already begun to reshape some London roads and junctions, part of a grandiose£900m plan unveiled by Boris Johnson earlier this year. Campaigners hope other areas could follow suit, tilting life in urban Britain away from decades of car dominance.

The trial being observed that morning was for low-level, cycle-specific traffic lights set a couple of metres forward from those for cars, keeping riders ahead and visible. When they are introduced, the cyclists' lights will probably turn green a few seconds earlier than the standard traffic lights, giving riders a head start. Participants receive minimal information about what to expect and the TRL researchers keep out of view, hence the hiding amid the shrubbery.

Elsewhere on the vast TRL campus, a series of other bike-friendly layouts are being tested, including a "bus bypass", which places bus stops safely out of cycle lanes, a bike lane separated by intermittent "armadillo" reflective humps rather than a kerb, and, most ambitiously of all, a Dutch-style roundabout with a segregated gyratory flow for bikes. There is also a computer simulator in which people "drive" a real car around a bike-filled cityscape projected on to surround screens. The scheme has already used 2,500 paid testers and is seeking more all the time.

Such extensive testing is necessary, not least because innovations need regulatory approval, said Dana Skelley, director of roads for TfL. "Pretty much everything here is a layout that we're not permitted to have on national roads under the current legislation. We realised that if we wanted to attract more people to cycle, more safely and more often, it was necessary to create a more cycle-friendly environment, and we looked towards Europe for that."

Domestic road users were generally not familiar with all this, she added: "Just because it works in Europe doesn't mean it's going to be OK. We needed to understand how British drivers understand these new road layouts and how they behave."

This is particularly the case with the roundabout, where drivers have to learn that the circular flow of cyclists has priority, not only over vehicles joining the system, but those turning to exit.

Commenting on the first tests, Peter Vermaat, a TRL engineer, said: "The drivers don't really know what to do, so generally they give way to the cyclists. We've had some sudden braking a couple of times, but nothing worse."

The test site is the physical manifestation of a long-running campaign by cycle groups for infrastructure that is not just well designed but sufficiently continuous to tempt a wider range of cyclists – children, or older people, especially women – on to urban streets.

The message of the London Cycling Campaign's Love London, Go Dutch project seemed to have been absorbed, said Mike Cavenett from the group. "I always liken TfL to one of those enormous oil tankers. It's a big, £7bn beast with thousands of employees and it takes time to turn around. But it is turning. There is a change in attitudes."

He added: "I think TfL are realising that. There is still inertia, and some elements are still deeply conservative about the changes. But other elements get it."

While some Dutch-style infrastructure will arrive soon – a new section of London's previously criticised cycle superhighways is being built with segregation and redesigned junctions – other innovations could prove more problematic.

Chris Peck, from the national cycling organisation CTC, argues that Dutch-style roundabouts are reliant on traffic flows much lower than the 50,000 vehicles a day seen on some roads in inner London. "That's far beyond the advised capacity for a Dutch roundabout. It's far too high to allow priority over side roads," he said. "If you had a platoon of cyclists coming all at once, which tends to be how traffic moves, and they have priority over traffic trying to get off the roundabout, that could lock up the roundabout very quickly. They will only work along with measures to reduce motorised traffic."

Seven dead as troubled tourist bus overturns in Pasuruan

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Sun, 05/06/2012

Seven passengers of a Mutiara Indah Murni tourist bus died Sunday as bus they were traveling in crashed in Ngembal village, Tutur (Nongkojajar) district in Pasuruan regency, East Java, on Sunday.

Five passengers died on the scene, while two other died on the way to Ganesha Medica hospital in Purwosari.

Survivors said they smelled burning braking pads just before the accident as the bus was rolling downhill. Passengers said the bus went out of control, especially after the driver, Slamet, slammed to the left in an attempt to avoid a motorcycle, kompas.com reported on Sunday.

Unfortunately, one of the bus’ wheels struck a large stone, causing the bus to roll several times before coming to rest on the shoulder of the opposing lane, blocking traffic along the highway.

The bus carried some 60 residents taking a tour from the Candi Lontar housing complex, located in the Sambikerep district of Surabaya, East Java.

They had just visited the Agro Bhakti Alam tourism site in Ngembal village and were heading for the Sengkaling public bath in Malang regency. The bus had only traveled two kilometers from Agro Bhakti Alam when the accident occurred.

One of the passengers, Sasongko, said the bus had broken down in the Purwosari area on their way to Ngembal village.

He said the radiator leaked and the bus had braking problems. “The driver sealed the leakage simply using a bar of soap. The leaking radiator showed that the bus was not roadworthy,” he told kompas.com.

Nongkojajar Police chief Adj. Comr. Marwan Ishari Purnomo said the police had detained the driver for further questioning. 

Govt plans to scrap 3-in-1 car pooling policy in Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 05/08/2010 11:00 AM

The central government plans to scrap the 3-in-1 rush hour car pooling regulation in the city and implement a retribution system instead, says a city official.

M. Akbar, head of traffic management at the Jakarta Transportation Agency, told The Jakarta Post on

Friday the government was still drafting the regulation for the implementation of the new retribution system policy.

“We are still unsure about when we can start imposing the new regulation,” Akbar said.

The 3-in-1 is a policy aimed at limiting the number of vehicles on the city’s main roads by stipulating that cars have at least three passengers in their car during rush hour.

The regulation applies to main thoroughfares such as Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin, Jl. S. Parman and Jl. Gatot Subroto.

The policy was introduced in 1994, but it has proved ineffective as drivers hire traffic jockeys to ride as temporary passengers in their cars so they comply with the regulation.

The government plans to implement a new retribution policy that will be paid by motorists and says it will start discussing the plan in June.

Under the initial plan, the retribution will be imposed on all cars using the current 3-in-1 restricted area. Later, the fee will be imposed on cars with less than three passengers, Elly Sinaga, the director for urban transport development at the Transportation Ministry, told detik.com.

During that stage, the authority will need to install special devices to detect the number of passengers in a car.

The government still doesn’t know how much investment will be needed to implement the regulation, but it has proposed that each car pay Rp 20,000 to use Jakarta’s main thoroughfares during rush hour.

The Indonesian Consumer Protection Foundation (YLKI) supports the plan, but has reminded the government not to use the policy to generate revenue rather than solve the city’s traffic problems.

With the new policy, the government should focus on efforts to improve the quality of the mass transportation in Jakarta, said Sudaryatmo from the YLKI.

“The policy should not only aim at limiting the number of cars, but also at creating a better transportation system,” Sudaryatmo said.

“It will be useless if the government tells people not to use private cars, but doesn’t offer any alternatives,” he added.

So far, Jakarta only has TransJakarta, a public bus system that uses a special lane.

But the existing system is considered incapable of providing public transport for the city’s population, while grand plans to build a subway and monorail have thus far been abandoned.

Private employee Krisdyan Widagdo Adhi, 29, said he welcomed the government’s plan.

“I hope this policy will deter people from using cars on main streets. I don’t mind paying if the traffic is smooth,” he said.

Krisdyan has refused to use his car to travel to his office on Jl. Zainul Arifin in West Jakarta, from

his house in Bintaro, South Jakarta, because of the bad traffic on Jl. Sudirman.

He currently rides his motorbike to his office.

However, Krisdyan hoped the new policy was not a short-term solution, saying the city desperately needed a reliable public transportation system.

To the left, transport agency tells motorcyclists

Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 12/23/2009 8:09 AM

Starting next year, the transportation agency will install additional road signs to support the traffic regulation ruling motorcyclists are to use the left side of the road.

“There’s actually a written regulation that stipulates motorcyclists are to use the left lane, but it’s not actually obeyed, or even enforced,” M. Akbar, head of the agency’s traffic engineering and management division, told The Jakarta Post via telephone Tuesday.

He said the agency had finished installing road signs and markers on six major thoroughfares: Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Merdeka Barat and Jl. Suprapto in Central Jakarta, as well as Jl. Pemuda and Jl. Pramuka in East Jakarta.

The road signs and markers on the six streets, he said, were aimed at reminding road users to obey the rules.

“We will gradually phase in the signs on other streets,” Akbar said.

An article in the 2009 Traffic Law states that motorcycles, slow vehicles, commercial vehicles and non-motorized vehicles should use the left side of the road. Another section rules that the right lane is dedicated to vehicles that are turning to the right or passing another vehicle.

Violators of the law could face a maximum sentence of one month in prison and a fine of Rp 250,000 (US$26).

Akbar said it was not the agency’s intention to impose regulations that would prohibit motorcycles from using the main thoroughfares.

“We don’t want to prohibit motorcycles [from using these streets], we just want to be able to better manage motorcycle traffic,” he said.

The deputy head of the agency, Riza Hashim, had previously said the agency would take certain steps before applying a policy that would ban motorcycles from certain streets.

The agency, he said, would start by creating special lanes dedicated to motorcyclists in certain streets.

“Following that, we can take the next step of prohibiting motorcycles from using certain key streets,” he was quoted as saying Sunday by Warta Kota daily.

Previous proposals to prohibit motorcycles from using Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin first surfaced during the term of former governor Sutiyoso in 2006 and were roundly criticized by motorcyclists.

Sutiyoso had expected to reduce traffic congestion by applying the policy. Similar regulations have been implemented on major thoroughfares in Beijing and Shanghai in China.

To date, the policy has not been implemented because no legal regulations governing the policy have been issued.

The concept, first floated last year, of having special motorcycle lanes has also sparked controversy among road users who feared the policy could instead worsen traffic congestion with millions of motorcycles scrambling for limited space.

In 2007, data from the Jakarta Police showed the number of motorcycles in the city had reached 3 million. This figure is predicted to have grown an additional 10 to 20 percent in the last two years.

This year alone, Jakarta Police have recorded more than 600 deaths from 6,286 road accidents, of which 3,606 accidents, more than half the total, involved motorcyclists.

25,806 roads users get tickets in seven days

The Jakarta Post, Sat, 03/21/2009 2:21 PM

JAKARTA: The police issued 25,806 tickets to people violating road regulations during an operation conducted several days before the campaign period, an official reported Friday.

Most of the tickets handed out during Operation Patuh Jaya, 14,201, were given to motorcyclists.

"Public minivans followed with 9,988 tickets," director of Jakarta Police traffic division, Sr. Comr. Condro Kirono, told reporters.

During the operation carried out between March 8 to 14, officers confiscated 9,939 driver's licenses (SIM), 15,356 vehicle ownership documents (STNK) and 511 vehicles.

The operation deployed 3,206 traffic police officers from the city headquarters, municipality and districts precincts. - JP

Record number of tickets issued

The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Mon, 03/16/2009 11:42 AM  

The city police recorded 21,388 traffic violations during the first five days of a six-day operation intended to curb reckless driving in the city.  

The operation, code-named Patuh Jaya, initially aimed at punishing violations by motorcyclists and public transportation drivers, but later expanded its scope to offending private motorists, city police traffic chief Sr. Comr. Condro Kirono said. 

The operation was held between March 8 and 14.

As of Friday, the police had ticketed 11,801 motorcyclists, 1,404 drivers of private cars and 8,183 public transport operators, including drivers of minivans, minibuses and buses. No data was immediately available on the results of Saturday’s operation.

The violators breached various regulations,  Condro said.

Some motorcyclists were caught wearing substandard safety helmets, some had none at all. 

“We also stopped those who ignored traffic signs and traffic lights and some who made a sudden switch of lanes so as to harm other road users,” he said.

“During the operation, we imposed stern sanctions, tougher than what we did in previous operations,” he claimed.

He earlier said that he had deployed the best traffic police officers to ensure that no officers would accept bribes and ensure the effectiveness of the operation.

The police also recorded 121 traffic accidents, including 24 serious ones, which claimed 19 lives during operation Patuh Jaya.

The police also seized 424 motorcycles after their riders failed to produce a drivers license (SIM) or vehicle ownership letter (STNK).

The operation was conducted ahead of the official election campaign period, which will  kick off Tuesday; traffic violations are expected to soar.

During that period, supporters of political parties are allowed to tour the capital in motorcades. 

In the past, the motorcades have ignored traffic signs and supporters have often sat on the rooftops of buses or in the tray of trucks. In 2004, the city police recorded 18.979 traffic violations during the 20-day campaign period. Most of the violations involved the campaign supporters. In the 1999 elections, the police reported 29 traffic accidents, which claimed 11 lives during the campaign period.

Chairman of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) Bambang Susantono said that the operation was only a warm-up for the police and called on them to do patrol more intensively.   

“The road users must realize that their recklessness in the road may harm other people,” he said.

To avoid traffic congestions and disruptions to public order, the Jakarta Election Commission has restricted campaigning on the city’s  main thoroughfares. 

Among the restricted streets are Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur, Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Jl. Diponegoro and Jl. Imam Bonjol. (hwa)

Motorists fool police to escape 3-in-1 policy

Desy Nurhayati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 02/04/2009 10:09 AM   

Police are finding it difficult to enforce the three-in-one zone policy during rush hour as private car users evade being ticketed by using trickery.  

Besides using traffic jockeys — people who they pick up to allow their vehicles to enter restricted zones — car users have another trick up their sleaves: dolls. 

“I once caught two people in a private car at Hotel Indonesia traffic circle using a doll seated in the car to look as if they carried three passengers,” said a police officer patrolling Senayan traffic circle in South Jakarta on Monday. 

“I warned them that they had broken the three-in-one rule, but they just laughed,” said the officer, who asked to remain anonymous. 

Under the three-in-one rule, enacted in 1994, private cars must have at least three passengers to travel along main thoroughfares from Blok M in South Jakarta to Kota in West Jakarta during weekdays from 7 a.m to 10 a.m and from 4 p.m to 7 p.m to ease traffic congestion in the city. 

However, the rule encourages people to serve as traffic jockeys as most of private car users have less than three people on board. Traffic jockeys are usually paid between Rp 10,000 and Rp 20,000, sometimes more, per ride. 

Traffic police officers patrolling three-in-one zones said they could not stop the violators one by one to ticket them or simply give them warnings. 

“We are not only responsible for monitoring the implementation of the three-in-one policy, but also ensuring that the traffic along this street runs smoothly,” said First Insp. Suprapto, who also patrolled around the Senayan traffic circle. 

Another officer patrolling the Harmoni intersection in Central Jakarta, Brig. Rahmadi, concurred. He said that he could only monitor what he saw.  

He said traffic police were often “kind and wise enough to let the three-in-one violators go. 

“We don’t always ticket them Most of the time, we only warn them and hope they will not do it again,” he said, adding that there could be more than ten violators a day. 

He complained that the violators usually got irritated when they were scolded by police officers.

“You know...that is typical of Jakarta riders. They know they are wrong, but they get angry when we rebuke them.”

WALK, DON'T WALK

The Jakarta Post  |  Tue, 01/06/2009 7:11 PM  |  Jakarta

High school students cross cross a busy downtown street in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday. Hard to find pedestrian right of ways and lax street discipline has contributed to traffic accidents in the country's capital. (JP/J. Adiguna)

Related Article:

4 Jakartans killed in hit-and-runs in 2 days

Bus fares won’t be cut: Operators

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 12/20/2008 9:07 AM 

GOING NOWHERE FAST: A traffic police officer ignores public minivan drivers loitering illegally for passengers near the busy Slipi intersection, West Jakarta, on Monday. Transportation operators are reluctant to cut fares, despite lower fuel prices. (JP/Arief Suhardiman) 

 

The Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) remains adamant it will not reduce public transportation fares in Jakarta after the government slashed fuel prices twice this month.

On Friday, Eddy Toet Hendratno, head of the Jakarta Transportation Council, said operators were still mulling a possible cut but had not decided yet. 

“We have also not given any recommendations on this,” Eddy told The Jakarta Post. 

“The fuel price factor accounts for only 34 percent of operational expenditure. That is why the companies are still debating reducing fares.” 

Rudy Thehamihardja from Organda insisted fares would not be cut just yet because the group was still reeling from a spate of recent expenditures. 

“We’ve had many expenses, such as buying spare parts, paying taxes and even paying drivers’ salaries. The decrease in the fuel price only solves one of our problems,” he said. 

At the beginning of December, the government reduced the price of subsidized Premium gasoline to Rp 5,500 from the initial Rp 6,000, but did not lower the price of subsidized diesel. 

On Dec. 15, the government again lowered the price of Premium, this time to Rp 5,000, and also diesel, from Rp 5,500 to Rp 4,800. 

On Thursday, Organda said it would cut inner-city public transportation fares by Rp 200 (2 US cents), or about 5 percent, following the latest fuel price cuts. 

Eddy pointed out fuel was only one of several expenses incurred by public transportation operators, along with spare part costs, fees and taxes, and even protection money for street thugs. 

“We are still discussing the matter and have not decided yet,” he said with a shrug. 

Eddy added he would recommend the owners reduce fares only if the government made yet another cut in fuel prices. 

“We hope fuel will be even cheaper, so we can do something to help people here,” he said. 

Public transportation drivers are also undecided on whether fares should be cut. 

“To be honest, we lose money every day,” Diman, who plies the Tanah Abang-Kemayoran route, told the Post.

“The government only cut fuel prices by a total of Rp 1,000, but we still have to pay the same vehicle rental fees to the owners.” 

Eddy concurred, saying this often led conductors and drivers to charge commuters higher fares than those set by government. “This is probably because the drivers have to pay rental fees to the owners. The decrease in the fuel price doesn’t affect rental fees.” 

The insistence of public transportation owners not to reduce fares has drawn many complaints.

Lisa, a university student, said she was disappointed that fares had not gone down along with fuel prices. 

“I’m surprised everything’s still the same,” she said. (naf)

 Related Article

Jakarta City Council wants taxi fares reduced

Commuters enjoy less travel time due to new busway rule

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta , | Tue, 03/11/2008 1:38 AM

On the first day the busway returned exclusivity to its lanes, TransJakarta passengers enjoyed shorter commuting time while other motorists were caught in the city's usual traffic jams.

The administration on Monday restored its policy of banning other vehicles from busway lanes.

"It only took about 40 minutes from Ragunan to my office in Kuningan. When they allowed motorists to use busway lanes, it took about 90 minutes. If it rained, it could take about two hours," said a passenger, Ficky.

"For me, fast travel is the most important thing, comfort comes second. I don't mind standing on the bus, as long as it's fast," she said.

Another passenger, Retno, shared her opinion.

"I was quite surprised that it only took 15 minutes from Duren Tiga to Kuningan. It usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes," said Retno, who works at a telecommunications company.

She said the frequency has also improved; it took her less than five minutes to wait for a bus where previously it took about 30 minutes.

Last week, Governor Fauzi Bowo said the city administration would again ban all other motorists from using seven busway corridors because the lanes were originally designed only for busway buses.

The ruling is expected to increase the number of busway passengers, which has seen a 14 percent drop since last November when a policy allowing non-TransJakarta vehicles to use busway lanes was introduced.

The policy was implemented in response to motorists' complaints about worsening congestion, exacerbated by the construction of new corridors, as on Jl. S. Parman in West Jakarta and Jl. Metro Pondok Indah, South Jakarta.

Both Ficky and Retno hope the administration will maintain the implementation of busway lane exclusivity for the sake of passenger comfort.

"I also hope the administration will improve busway services, by adding more buses, for example," Ficky said.

Motorists see the issue differently.

Lia, who drives from her office in Mampang to her home in Taman Sari, Central Jakarta, said she had to find alternative roads to avoid the traffic jams yesterday.

"Traffic jams are nothing new for Mampang motorists, but today (Monday), the traffic was crazy. I even had to find another route to get home," said Lia.

To implement the new policy, an official at the Traffic Management Center (TMC), Briptu Purwanto, said police deployed about 2,500 officers, comprising 1,500 traffic police, 500 patrol officers and 500 subdistrict police.

The Jakarta Transportation Agency also deployed 616 officers.

Agency head Nurahman said his office would continue to deploy officials to apply the policy. "But we will decrease the number of personnel. We hope motorists understand they can not use the busway lanes." (trw)