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View all search resultsStrong policies needed to maintain Jakarta's pandemic traffic respite: Experts
As mobility returns to pre-pandemic levels in response to plummeting COVID-19 cases and easing restrictions, experts say that major efforts are needed to keep Jakarta's roads gridlock-free.
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Traffic moves smoothly during the afternoon rush hour in central Jakarta on Feb. 10, 2021, as many people worked from home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP/BAY ISMOYO)
T
he two years of the COVID-19 pandemic have come with a small silver lining for Jakarta. The city, which was once ranked among the most congested in the world, has experienced a reprieve in its chronic traffic woes.
Roadway congestion levels improved significantly after the outbreak, as schools were closed and people were forced to work from home to curb the spread of the virus.
But as mobility slowly returns to pre-pandemic levels in response to plummeting COVID-19 cases and easing restrictions, experts say that major efforts are needed to keep Jakarta's roads gridlock-free.
A recent report by Dutch location technology company TomTom ranked Jakarta the 46th most congested city in the world last year. The city had been ranked 37th in 2020 and 10th in 2019.
According to the 2021 TomTom Traffic Index, the average congestion level in Jakarta was 34 percent in 2021, down 2 percent from 2020 and down 19 percent from 2019 – before the pandemic swept the globe.
Traffic during rush hours had also improved, the report said, with congestion levels during the morning rush down 25 percent from 2019 and congestion levels during the evening rush hour decreasing by 22 percent.
The report also found that in 2021, Jakartans spent an average of 2 days and 3 hours less time driving in rush hours than in 2019.
