The Jakarta Traffic Police have suggested extending the odd-even license plate traffic policy until after the Asian Para Games on October 16.
The Games, which is set to begin on Oct. 8, will be hosted in Jakarta.
“We recommended extending the policy to the Games’ organizing committee. I personally recommend that it should be extended until the end of the Para Games,” said Jakarta Police traffic directorate chief Sr. Comr. Yusuf on Thursday as reported by kompas.com.
He argued that it would be more efficient to stretch the policy to five weeks, instead of having to reintroduce it ahead of the Para Games.
Furthermore, Yusuf pointed out that it had significantly improved traffic in Jakarta.
“With the odd-even policy, the number of traffic offenders have decreased. Perhaps it has made citizens more aware of traffic regulations. That’s me thinking positively,” he said.
The policy also increased public transport usage and increased the average driving speed by 150 percent to 30 kilometers per hour from 20 km/h, according to the police’s data.
The odd-even policy, which restricts private cars from entering certain major thoroughfares based on plate numbers, was expanded on Aug. 1 to ease congestion ahead and during the Asian Games. The new expanded policy increased the restriction time to 15 hours per day from seven and it included weekends as well.
Source: Jakarta Post