The Chief of Greater Jakarta Regional Police (Polda Metro Jaya), Inspector General Karyoto, has formed a ‘Traffic Jam-Solving Team’ to untangle traffic chaos in Jakarta and its surroundings.
This team comprises three work units that will patrol and manage congestion-prone areas. On Tuesday, 11th of February, Karyoto assembled three work units—the Traffic Directorate, the Directorate of ‘Ready, Prepared, and Alert’ (Direktorat Siap Siaga, Siap Sedia, dan Waspada or Direktorat Samapta), and the Mobile Brigade Corps of the Greater Jakarta Regional Police—at the National Monument Field (Lapangan Monas), Central Jakarta. These units have now merged into the ‘Traffic Jam-Solving Team,’ which will be mobilised using two-wheeled vehicles.
During the assembly, the Greater Jakarta Regional Police also showcased 1,339 trail motorbikes from the three aforementioned work units.
“All two-wheeled vehicles in the ranks of the Greater Jakarta Regional Police and five police precincts in Jakarta were deliberately held and paraded at Monas, Central Jakarta, to be checked and recorded in preparation for the formation of the ‘Traffic Jam-Solving Team.‘ We wanted to form a team that can immediately move to congestion-prone areas,” said Karyoto.
The use of two-wheeled vehicles (motorbikes) for the team’s mobilisation was a deliberate choice.
Karyoto continued, “They [the ‘Traffic Jam-Solving Team’] would move by motorbike. If they use a car, they would be [stuck] in queuing. If they use a motorbike, they can [mobilise]. If it’s really needed, they can squeeze in [through the traffic jams] and take steps to reach the points [of congestion] that need them.”
The ‘Traffic Jam-Solving Team‘ will be reinforced by 60 to 80 personnel stationed at several strategic points. They will continuously move and adjust their locations based on traffic conditions. According to the Deputy Director of Traffic at the Greater Jakarta Regional Police, AKBP Argo Wiyono, this team operates differently from regular traffic police, who usually regulate traffic at fixed times during the morning, afternoon, and evening. Unlike the static nature of regular traffic police, the ‘Traffic Jam-Solving Team’ will be deployed immediately to areas experiencing severe congestion.
“The presence of this team will provide quick solutions in locations that need direct intervention,” Wiyono added.