Transportation System for Jakarta

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

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The Jakarta metropolitan area, with a population of 28 million, is one of several major cities in the world that do not have a rapid transport system. The public bus system in Jakarta can only accommodate 400,000 passengers per day, while the busway (Transjakarta) lanes fill with cars, motorcycles and official vehicles during rush hours.

It is not surprising that – based on data from the Jakarta Transportation Agency – nearly 10 million cars, motorcycles, trucks and other vehicles pass the streets in the capital every day. Nearly 2 million come from neighboring cities in the provinces of West Java and Banten.

Jakarta has been named the city with the worst traffic in the world according to an index based on satellite navigation data, which has found that its drivers start and stop more than 33,000 times on average per year. It is estimated that 70 percent of the city\'s air pollution comes from motorized vehicles.

The government has acknowledged that Jakarta\'s transport nightmare poses a serious threat to the city\'s function. They are aiming to increase the volume of public transport travel from 23 percent to 60 percent by 2030.

However, private vehicles will not go away anytime soon. One of the challenges the city administration faces is how to manage and integrate them into a comprehensive urban transit system.

In order to achieve this goal, the administration requires integrated and private transport data that leads to aggregate, comprehensive and real-time data on road traffic. Clear data analysis is the key to addressing Jakarta\'s transport woes. The question is, how can the science be applied?

A project at the United States’ MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning has shown how to apply the technique. A number of published project papers indicate the need for each element of an interconnected public transport system to provide critical real-time data. This data analysis can increase the knowledge of and manage anomalies in real time.

Predictive maintenance, for example, can be scheduled to minimize vehicle breakdowns, a great scourge in commuting. Data feeds from an area during regular traffic jams enable more efficient bus route planning as well as congestion management at bus stops, with more frequent services for popular routes.

This may sound esoteric, but it really is not rocket science. Other countries have already used data analysis to help manage their public transport problems. What can we learn from Singapore, which has gathered best practices from all over the world to mitigate challenges for transport authorities, service providers and consumers?

According to a report by McKinsey & Company, the strategic collection and use of information can raise estimates and help tap behavior in ways to improve the reliability of transport infrastructure and increase its efficiency and utilization.

For example, the report says that Israel has introduced a 13-mile fast lane on Highway 1 between Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport. The road uses a toll system that calculates cost based on traffic at the time of a journey. To work, the system calculates the volume of cars on the road; it can also evaluate the space between vehicles to measure congestion.

This is highly real-time pattern recognition. The information is then used in a way that increases the "output", or the volume of traffic that the road can bear. If the traffic density is high, the toll is high; if only a few cars are on the road, the cost is low. This not only makes toll revenues flow, but also reduces congestion by "driving" demand.

The Netherlands can also benefit from the application of the big data analysis. Dutch Railways is a major passenger train operator that provides rail services on the main Dutch rail network and international services to other European destinations. Running this vast network gives Dutch Railways access to large amounts of data that its maintenance and control unit staff collect through intelligent train technology, ticketing systems, travel information, monitoring and real-time services.

The railway suppliers deliver all this information technology (IT) with each type of train having its own IT environment, thereby making it difficult to coordinate and maintain every system. Dutch Railways had a vision to integrate all information to provide more reliable and better services to its customers.

Using streaming analytics, in-memory computing, integration and messaging software, Dutch Railways can now provide real-time information about rail services and maintenance scheduling. Commuters can also use the travel plan app to ensure smooth and fast travel.

The obvious conclusion is that digitizing infrastructure networks can increase forecasts, promote reliability and improve efficiency. Then, what is the next step?

The Jakarta authorities have taken the first step with a commitment to the mass rapid transit (MRT). The challenge now is to open and encourage transport data sharing among all stakeholders: transport operators, system providers and the public. In our opinion, this will speed up the development of practical solutions to reduce congestion, increase the effectiveness of idle time and resolve commuting discomforts. Applying technology in this field will not only improve daily life, but also provide important support for Jakarta’s role as a leading regional city.

Erich Gerber, General Manager, Tibco for Asia-Pacific and Japan