Jakarta's traffic congestion problem is worsening. The Director of Traffic of the Jakarta Metro Police, Senior Commissioner Pol Latif Usman, even proposed a readjustment of office working hours in the capital city to prevent traffic congestion from peaking at the same time.
"Because all community activities start on average at 7 am, 8 am, and 9 am, they will leave their homes at the same time, resulting in a traffic jam at the same time here (in Jakarta)," said Latif, as reported by *Liputan6.com*, Thursday (21/7/2022).
However, the congestion in the capital city is not only due to working hour arrangements but also related to the ever-increasing number of motor vehicles.
According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of motor vehicles in Jakarta has consistently increased every year during the 2017-2021 period, as shown in the graph.
In 2021, the number of vehicles in Jakarta reached approximately 21.75 million units, a 7.6% year-on-year (YoY) increase from the previous year.
Motorcycles accounted for 75.92% of the total number of vehicles in Jakarta in 2021. Meanwhile, cars accounted for 18.89%.
Trucks accounted for 3.61%. Buses had the smallest share, at approximately 1.57% of the total number of vehicles in DKI Jakarta in 2021.
According to the Chairman of the Presidium of Indonesia Traffic Watch (ITW), Edison Siahaan, weak control over the vehicle population is the main cause of Jakarta's traffic congestion problem.
"Therefore, the effective step to overcome congestion is to limit the number of vehicles, not just their movement," said Edison, as reported by *CNN Indonesia*, Sunday (24/7/2022).
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