COUNTRY VOICE ■ DKI Jakarta has won the 2021 Sustainable Transport Award (STA) for its continuous development of the integration program between public transportation modes. The city that won the STA was announced at the international transport conference, MOBILIZE 2020 which was held virtually on October 26, 28 and 30, 2020.
Thus, Jakarta became the first city in Southeast Asia to win the STA award defeating major cities in the world, after last year it was ranked second or received the title of 'Honorable Mention'.
The Governor of DKI Jakarta Province, Anies Baswedan expressed his pride in Jakarta and his commitment to continue to strive for a sustainable transportation system whose ultimate goal is the comfort of its citizens.
"Alhamdulillah, Jakarta was chosen as the best city in the world in the 2021 Sustainable Transport Award. I am also proud of Jakarta's achievement in increasing integrated transportation innovation. This is a reminder that we must continue to strive to improve existing transportation services, so that the comfort of residents in transportation is guaranteed," Governor Anies said as quoted from the Jakarta Provincial Government PPID, Saturday (31/10/2020).
In the past year, continued Governor Anies, the ranks of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, BUMD, and Jakarta transportation stakeholders are considered successful in presenting various innovations to improve the quality of transportation in Jakarta. Among other things, the expansion of lanes and the addition of bicycle facilities, the revitalization of bus stops and sidewalks, the arrangement of pedestrian facilities in the villages, and the integration of various modes of public transportation. Jakarta continues to innovate and has managed to beat dozens of other big cities in the world, such as Auckland, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Charlotte, Frankfurt, Moscow, San Francisco and Sao Paulo.
"STA 2021 is a victory for Jakarta residents, due to collaboration with residents, transportation activists for wayfinding design, electric bus innovation, and AC microtrans. The rapid increase in the number of Jakarta public transportation users even reached a new record of 1 million daily TransJakarta subscribers last February. Before the pandemic. This year's pandemic has indeed forced us to adapt, with restrictions on public transportation capacity and strict health protocols. But, the positive thing is that during this pandemic, cyclists in the city of Jakarta have increased rapidly, "said Governor Anies.
STA is an annual award event given to cities that have shown commitment, political will, and vision in the fields of sustainable transportation and urban development. The success of the capital city of Jakarta has been achieved through various sustainable efforts in the transportation sector as follows:
1. Integrating a microbus (angkot) with Transjakarta services in which 10 angkot operators have agreed to join Transjakarta;
2. Presenting the Jakarta MRT and Jakarta LRT last year, which was also a great momentum for the public transportation system in Jakarta;
3. Integrate transportation services, both physical and payment. This is proven by the construction of Transjakarta stations and routes that are integrated with the Jakarta MRT, Jakarta LRT, and microbus;
4. Arrangement of Jakarta Capital City's public transportation areas with state-owned public transportation companies; KRL Commuter Line. It aims to become a transportation hub that provides convenience, security and comfort for residents. In the first stage, the stations that will be arranged are Tanah Abang Station, Juanda Station, Sudirman Station, and Pasar Senen Station;
5. Developing a fleet of environmentally friendly electric buses. This effort is carried out by Transjakarta and has been tested this year. Transjakarta also has a target of converting all of its fleets to electric buses by 2030;
6. Change the function of the Kendal Tunnel as a pedestrian-only area that is convenient for connecting KRL stations, Jakarta MRT stations, Airport Train stations and Transjakarta stops. This facility was built as an effort to support the transportation integration program, while still considering the comfort of the residents;
7. Continuous efforts to build a bicycle path that has been built 63 km to date. In the future, 500 km of protected bicycle paths are planned. The effort to plan this bike path paid off during the COVID-19 pandemic when there was a 10-fold increase in cyclists on Jakarta's main roads. This was later strengthened by the implementation of a pop up bike lane (temporarily protected bicycle lane) and Governor Regulation No. 51 of 2020, which instructs pedestrians and cyclists to prioritize during the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB);
8. Changing the function of the Thamrin 10 park and ride facility, which was previously a private vehicle parking area, into a creative economy business space. This is an effort to promote restrictions on private motorized vehicles in the city center.
Please note, the STA Award ceremony will be held in January 2021 in Washington DC, United States. In the event, Jakarta will be awarded in an event entitled 'Transport Research Board Annual Meeting'.
As the city that won the STA, Jakarta will then automatically host MOBILIZE 2021 organized by ITDP and supported by Volvo Research and Education Foundations. (source: PPID)
