The Jakarta provincial authority will enforce a car-free night in Central Jakarta’s Jenderal Sudirman and MH Thamrin boulevards on New Year’s Eve (December 31, 2022) to ease traffic congestion.

“We will enforce the car-free night policy (at the two roads) from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Western Indonesian Time (UTC +7),” Jakarta Transportation Office head Syafrin Liputo announced at Jakarta City Hall on Tuesday.

To anticipate residents’ movement toward the boulevards on private vehicles, the authority will prepare 40 parking spots, he said, while advising residents to use public transportation instead.

“The (parking) capacity is adequate, yet, we hope residents who want to spend their New Year’s Eve in the Sudirman-Thamrin area will use public transportation,” he said.

New Year’s Eve celebrations in Central Jakarta will be centered at Thamrin 10 community park, while entertainment stages would be set up along the road, he added.

Liputo said that corridor 1 of the bus rapid transit system TransJakarta, which connects Blok M in South Jakarta with Jakartakota Station in North Jakarta, will remain operational, with adjustments if found necessary.

The provincial authority is also coordinating with the Greater Jakarta Police and the Jakarta regional military command to maintain security on New Year’s Eve, he informed.

Earlier, the Greater Jakarta Police said that eight thousand personnel would be deployed to secure Christmas Day and New Year’s Day celebrations in Jakarta.

“The personnel (deployed) will be more than eight thousand, and they will be supplied by police units throughout Jakarta,” head of the Greater Jakarta Police’s public relations division, Senior Commissioner Endra Zulpan, said.

This year’s security operation for Christmas and New Year’s Day would be different, particularly as the regional government has rescinded capacity restrictions at public places, he added.

Source: Antara News