Creating safe, comfortable, inclusive, and comprehensive walking and cycling space that supports public transport usage
Background
In 2019, 57% of Indonesian citizens lived in urban areas. It is also estimated that 68% of Indonesian population will live in urban areas by 2025 (World Bank, 2019), making Indonesian cities among the fastest growing in the world. The growing population has also seen an increase in the number of motorized vehicles. From 1995 to 2014, it is reported that the number of cars and motorcycles increased significantly in Indonesia, leading to pollution, traffic congestion and road fatalities. From 2013 to 2017, traffic accidents in Indonesia increased by 0.77% a year (CBS, 2018).
Challenges
Like in many developing countries, Indonesian roads are still dominated by private vehicles, making crossing the streets a life and death experience for many pedestrians. The rapidly growing car use has led to other issues such as pollution, traffic congestion and a reduction in road safety. There is lack of robust spatial planning and a fragmented construction of sidewalks leading pedestrians to often have to walk on roadways. Despite the popularity of walking to access the BRT, there is there is still lack of integration between the BRT and walking and cycling modes of transport in Jakarta.
Successes
To tackle these challenges and encourage the use of sustainable modes, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Indonesia, through the support of the Share the Road initiative, has partnered with the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) to develop a “National Vision for Non-Motorized Transport” document. The strategy which aims to ‘create a safe, comfortable, inclusive, and comprehensive walking and cycling space which supports public transport usage,’ is a practical guide for city governments on how to plan and prioritize the needs of pedestrians and cyclists.
Indonesia is also seeing the development of two NMT projects, Greenways and Public Bike. Through ITDP, the two projects are being carried out towards improvement of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure as means of the BRT feeder system. Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure are key components of Jakarta’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system development.
Indonesia has also developed Jarkarta NMT Vision& Design guideline, which is a five year implementation guideline which will include data for prioritizing planning improvements and upgrading of pedestrian facilities. ITDP Indonesia developed this guide as part of technical assistance for the DKI Jakarta Provincial Public Works Agency of the DKI Jakarta.
