Causes Of Traffic Congestion In Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia and the largest metropolitan area in Southeast Asia with a population of about 28 million inhabitants. The rapid growth in urban population that the city experienced has to do with a massive migration of people coming from other parts of the nation, especially from poor regions. Other two major problems are traffic congestions, which caused pollution, and floods.

About two-thirds of the population live in the peripheral areas but still highly dependent on the center of the megacity, mostly because is where all the population needs are commuted. Since the public transportation infrastructures are very limited and not affordable, traffic congestion in the main highways and in all the urban area has become a tremendous problem. One of the solution proposed was the idea of relocating the capital out of Jakarta, since this could reduce urbanization and the rate of car ownership in the city and its surrounding areas. However, the solution will not completely address the traffic congestion in Jakarta. What the megacity really need is an affordable, accessible public transport system such as a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), or Metro [28] [29].

The main reasons for Jakarta’s floods are: rivers brimming with garbage, waste-choked waterways, high levels of river sedimentation, and overflowing seawater; but the major contributor to flooding is pollution and the mishandling of waste management. To tackle this, the government has issued various policies