Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities
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have been playing an important role in financing infrastructure projects throughout the developing
world as part of their commitment to sustainable transport. This is also the case for Jakarta. Jakarta
MRT, for example, is largely being funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
4.1.10. Health
4.1.10.1. Air quality and pollution
Fast urbanization and industrialization in Indonesia have produced severe air pollution problems,
predominantly in Jakarta as the economic centre. Motorized vehicles are regarded as the main sources
of air pollution, and contributes to 80% of air pollution in Jakarta. Rapid increase of the vehicles does
not only increase the total emission amount in proportion to the number of vehicles, but also the unit
emission amount at an exponential rate by slowing down travel speed with the congestion.
Levels of particulatematter (PM10), or large particle dust, carbonmonoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide
(NO2)—which already far exceed limits set by the World Health Organization—rose by between 40%
and 85% respectively in 2011.
As the most significant source of PM10 emission, diesel vehicles are targeted as they account for over
80% of PM10 emitted from vehicles while they provide less than 30% of total road transportation
(Asri and Hidayat, 2005), and the most emitting vehicle type is truck, followed by large bus which
generates 33 times and 22 times as much emission as a passenger car respectively.
Therefore, the PM10 emission control on these heavy duty diesel vehicles is most effective and should
be placed the highest priority on to the chronic air pollution. Meanwhile, other studies show that more
than 50% of Jakartans have experienced illnesses related to air pollution. To address this issue, the
Government began emissions checks in 2007 and to date only heavy duty diesel vehicles (public
transport bus and truck) have to undergo regular emission tests.
Such efforts to manage and improve air quality have been hampered by poor regulations, weak
enforcement, capacity and a lack of reliable information. Implementation has been marred allegedly
by fraud, resulting in urban transportation with high emission levels.
4.1.10.2. Physical activity
High motorization and poor provision of NMT network in Jakarta lead to high dependency of Jakartans
on motorized vehicles to perform their mobility even for a short distance. As such, there are very few
physical activities involved in their regular journeys.
4.1.11. Climate Change
Jakarta is located close to the sea’s edge and therefore vulnerable to rising sea levels and has
constantly been at risk of flooding. Uncontrolled development of upland regions and the growing
wealth of Jakarta’s citizens lead to new high quality residential areas at the expense of small lakes,
putting the city under permanent risk of flooding. Many environmentalists, ecologists, moralists and
sociologists recount how Jakarta’s rapid increase in population gives rise to a demand for housing,
living space and other human necessities, without paying attention to social ethics.
Risk of global warming, rising sea levels and climate change faced by world megacities is also
contributed by an unsustainable transport sector. 23% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from
fuel combustion are transport related and these are expected to increase 57%worldwide in the period
2005– 2030 (ADB, 2009). Asia counts for more than 50% of this global increase and Jakarta as a
megacity in Asia, plays an important role in it. One of the measures to reduce CO2 emissions is by
shifting transport to modes with intrinsically low carbon emission per unit of transport provided.
Jakarta has done this in the last decade with its TransJakarta that has demonstrated that rapid increase
in ridership results in lower CO2 emissions per passenger kilometres delivered. Even though the