Jakarta is aiming to emerge as a global leader in sustainable public transportation, Governor Anies Baswedan has said.
“The transformation of transportation requires a clear vision, and we have the vision to transform Jakarta from a predominantly traffic-heavy, dense, and polluted city to a global leader in sustainable public transportation,” he remarked at the ‘Transforming Transportation Conference: Climate-Centered Mobility for A Sustainable Recovery,’ here on Thursday.
According to Baswedan, sustainable public transportation will allow residents and visitors to feel safe and comfortable.
He said the Jakarta provincial government has also made a series of development and paradigm shifts in the transportation sector by prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists, then mass public transportation, emission-free vehicles, and finally, private vehicles.
“Jakarta has also initiated sustainable mobility through an integrated transportation system by shifting the paradigm from Car-Oriented Development to Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). Mass public transport also creates a city that is more integrated,” Baswedan explained.
The commitment to improving mass public transportation can build public trust in public transportation services, he added.
Jakarta has also doubled its public transport coverage (from 42 percent in 2017 to 82 percent), the governor informed. Thus, Jakarta is on the right track in providing public transportation within 500 m from home that is targeted to reach 95 percent coverage in 2022, he said.
Jakarta is also aiming to operationalize 14 thousand electric buses along with ensuring a 60-percent share of public transportation modes by 2030, he added.
“We believe that the best way to understand a city is to use a public transport system and ensure everyone living in the urban area has access to safe, intense, affordable, and carbon-free mass transportation. In addition to connecting places, public transportation also connects people. It is public transport that unites us,” he remarked.
The international discussion forum was also attended by World Bank managing director Mari Elka Pangestu and the President of the Federated States of Micronesia, David W. Panuelo.
Source: Antara News