Traffic - What a Headache!
There are advantages and disadvantages of having a car in Jakarta. First, the traffic is terrible! Traffic is extremely slow, simply because the road infrastructure just can’t handle the vast number of cars on the road. Traffic is chaotic because there are very few controlled intersections with actual traffic lights, like you are accustomed to in North America. Ordinary citizens earn their livelihood being “unofficial directors of traffic” at many uncontrolled intersections. If they help you get your car through an intersection, or into the main flow of traffic, you hand them a small amount of money for their services. Busier or more important intersections actually have official police officers directing traffic, during peak congestion.
When it rains, it pores, so it’s nice to be comfortably sitting in your air conditioned car, keeping dry and having your dedicated driver attend to all your transportation needs.
Motorcycles are by far the main mode of transportation for the average person in Jakarta. They are affordable to purchase and operate, while the cost of ownership for most cars would be out of the reach for the majority of the population. It’s not uncommon to see multiple people riding on the motorcycles. These motorcycles are small, many only 125-150cc, what North America’s would consider scooters. At times you will see a family of 4, mother, father and two small children riding together on one of these small scooters. Helmets are supposed to be worn, but many times you will only see the mother or father, wearing them, not the children.
People riding motorcycles are able to get where they want to go, much faster than driving in a car. They pass cars on the edge of the roads, between cars on multi lane roadways, and even weave in and out of oncoming traffic lanes, if the opportunity allows it. They don’t pay particular attention to the “rules of the road” and most of the time they disobey traffic laws, since they’re not enforced much and they’d never be caught. Surprisingly you don’t see a lot of accidents occurring, so the current system works to some degree.
When it rains, it pores, so it’s nice to be comfortably sitting in your air conditioned car, keeping dry and having your dedicated driver attend to all your transportation needs.
Motorcycles are by far the main mode of transportation for the average person in Jakarta. They are affordable to purchase and operate, while the cost of ownership for most cars would be out of the reach for the majority of the population. It’s not uncommon to see multiple people riding on the motorcycles. These motorcycles are small, many only 125-150cc, what North America’s would consider scooters. At times you will see a family of 4, mother, father and two small children riding together on one of these small scooters. Helmets are supposed to be worn, but many times you will only see the mother or father, wearing them, not the children.
People riding motorcycles are able to get where they want to go, much faster than driving in a car. They pass cars on the edge of the roads, between cars on multi lane roadways, and even weave in and out of oncoming traffic lanes, if the opportunity allows it. They don’t pay particular attention to the “rules of the road” and most of the time they disobey traffic laws, since they’re not enforced much and they’d never be caught. Surprisingly you don’t see a lot of accidents occurring, so the current system works to some degree.
In this April 1 photo, a woman carries her baby as she signals to show that she's for hire as a "jockey" to help drivers cheat a peak time traffic rule of three people to one car during rush hour, at the main business district in Jakarta, Indonesia. Traffic clogged Jakarta planned to suspend the peak time traffic rule this week raising concerns among the jockeys that they could lose their way to eke out living.(AP/Achmad Ibrahim)
Back in 2003, the government imposed a system requiring a minimum of three passengers in a vehicle, on major roadways in Jakarta during peak morning and evening rush hour. In April 2016, the government lifted this requirement, and is trying to determine other methods to control the traffic congestion. Many underprivileged residents of Jakarta, made their livelihood from the 3-in-1 rule, and would offer their services to ride as "Jockeys", to help drivers cheat the traffic control system. (I personally hired a Jockey several times to ride in our car, to get to a destination where I had no choice but to drive on one of these regulated roadways). Below are a few links to stories relating to this situation.
The Jakarta Post - traffic-clogged-jakarta-to-suspend-rush-hour-car-pooling
The Jakarta Post - traffic-clogged-jakarta-to-suspend-rush-hour-car-pooling
Don't rely on effective emergency response in Jakarta. It's very difficult for emergency vehicles to respond, because of congested and impassible roads. This scene is rather mild, as the traffic is quite light and the ambulance was actually able to get through.