Water transportation in Indonesia

Traversing Pontianak by the river

By Icha Rahmanti, The Jakarta Post, Pontianak | Jul 18, 2013

One thing all travelers must do while visiting West Kalimantan's capital, Pontianak, is to try out its signature water transportation system to cross the big river dividing the city.

As the city is located at the delta of Kapuas River, many of the residents' activities usually involve crossing the river using the many wooden boats found there, as the Kapuas Bridge is not adequate enough to accommodate the high river-crossing traffic.

Water transportation is a crucial part of the city's lifeblood and is used by many people to reach their workplaces and schools as well as the town's market.

The two common water transportation modes in Pontianak are the sampan wooden boats and speed boats.

The main difference between the two boats, were that the sampans used paddles while the speed boats used motorized engines.

Nowadays, however, many of the sampans are equipped with engines as well, giving rise to the nickname “sampan motor” – although the paddles are sometimes still utilized to give the sampans a little boost along the river.

One ride across the river using either the sampans or the speedboats will only cost Rp 2,000 (19 US cents) per adult.

However, the speedboats will only depart once they are fully loaded with six adults.

Try riding either one of the two boats and one will find the experience to be quite unforgettable. For example, when the small motorized sampan gets too close to passing speed boats, its rough wobble would feel both exciting and scary.

However, speed boat driver Sudi said that the rides were completely safe.

“Unless the boat has holes, there is nothing to worry about,” he said, adding that the ride is available all day long, even in the small hours of the morning.

“Do not be worried [when taking boat rides at night]. You won't get mugged or anything,” he added.

A recommended route for travelers wanting to try the boat rides would be from near the Seng Hie harbor to the famous Pontianak grand Mosque (“Masjid Jami”) located near the Keraton Kadariah palace of the Pontianak sultanate.

The ride takes less than 10 minutes, which may be a little too quick for those wishing to absorb the unique scenery along the city's riverbanks.

source: http://www.jakpost.travel/news/traversing-the-rivers-in-pontianak-kn5vfcAxjshp6WHe.html

Reflection: Some people use this water transportation to go school or office, and it works. So, It can be a good idea to be used in Singapore to reduce traffic jam.

Singapore's solutions to manage traffic jam

Singapore reveals 3 economic solutions to traffic congestion for Asian peers

BY SAM GIBB

Traffic congestion reduces a country’s potential for creating prosperity. Singapore identified this early in the piece and was able to create an effective system of incentives and constraints so traffic wasn’t a hindrance to economic growth.Neighbouring countries could learn a lot from the systems that Singapore has put in place, allowing their economies to reach their potential.Despite billing itself as the ‘Garden State’, Singapore has one of the highest road densities of developed nations with 4.8km of road for each square kilometre of land. Singapore also has one of the highest ratios of vehicles per kilometre of road at 281.This is significantly higher than Japan (63), France (36), the United Kingdom (77) and the United States (38). Regardless, Singapore has found a way to avoid the traffic problems that plague neighbouring countries.Understanding the economic issues that come with traffic congestion, the Government put in place a range of incentives and constraints to limit the impact cars have on the city-state. There’s a system of quotas, registration fees, and congestion charges that allow Singapore’s traffic to flow relatively easily 24/7.

The issue for neighbouring countriesPeople love complaining about traffic. Anyone who has had a “quick” business trip to Jakarta will have most likely uttered something about the traffic under their breath. Neighbouring countries have a similar number of vehicles per kilometre of road as Singapore with Indonesia at 143, Thailand at 255 and the Philippines at 226.However, the quality of the roads is a far cry from the silky smooth expressways that you’ll glide across in Singapore. A poor road system combined with a growing middle class who own an increasing amount of vehicles per household can quickly lead to crushing congestion problems.As traffic slows to a crawl, it’s not just the commuters that suffer. Manufacturers find the number of shipments per day restricted, business meetings are limited to 1-2 per day, and multi-nationals prefer to avoid the traffic jams altogether instead of devising solutions to the logistical issues.The cost of congestion isn’t trivial. A 2013 McKinsey research report put the economic cost of Indonesia’s poor road infrastructure at US$5.2bn in 2010. This was a result of having 70% of the total road network poorly maintained and 35% heavily damaged. Adding to the inadequate infrastructure, Indonesia has put incentives in place encouraging people to own vehicles by subsidising the price of fuel.

Singapore’s SolutionsIt’s always a shock when people first hear about how much it’ll cost to get behind the wheel of a brand new Honda Jazz in Singapore. After hitting a low of S$3,864 in March 2011 the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) for a new car will now set you back over S$70,000.When you add on the additional registration fee, the level of which ratchets up to 180 per cent of the Open Market Value of the vehicle, you end up paying 2-3 times the regular price of the car.By increasing the price of vehicles, the COE system restricts the amount of people that want or are able to buy a car. Twice a month, the Singapore Land Transport Authority runs an auction process for the available COEs. The amount of COEs is determined by a quota system.Further to the quota system and additional registration fees that new car owners need to pay, there’s also the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system that incentivises drivers to avoid certain areas at peak times.Costing about the same as a cup of coffee, passing underneath an ERP gantry can cost a normal car up to S$5 during peak hours. If drivers aren’t in a rush they’ll think twice before turning down a road that could lead them to an ERP gantry.

What can neighbouring countries learn from Singapore?Singapore’s private transport fees and charges might seem excessive, but they work. Singapore has created a system of incentives and constraints that allow the economy to expand without causing congestion.If the neighbouring countries are able to get beyond politics and use a similar economic system to Singapore they will be able to remove the cuffs that are constraining their potential growth.- See more at: http://sbr.com.sg/economy/commentary/singapore-reveals-3-economic-solutions-traffic-congestion-asian-peers#sthash.dpbSOHzy.dpuf

survey

website: https://www.surveymonkey.com/analyze/1qNa4wxEDXlhH_2FVefRzPW5XEZFo2SA7q51oDIWczTXg_3D

This method is done by using surveymonkey.com as a media to gather 100 correspondents within age 17 to 60. The questions are about their opinion on the peak period, the causes of traffic jam, and how they avoid traffic jam.  

According to the survey, 62.63% of 100 correspondents usually stucks in traffic jam, while the 37.37% doesn’t, and most of the correspondents (56.57%) said that they usually take bus while 38.38% correspondents usually use car and 33.33% correspondents usually take MRT.

Fig.1.2a. Peak hours on the road

Majority (54%) usually stuck in traffic jam at 7 to 10 (in the morning) and 6 to 9 (in the evening) which means these are the peak hours on the road (Fig.1.2a.).

Fig.1.2b. The causes of traffic jam

Too many vehicles on the road has become the main causes of traffic jam (82.83%), while the second causes of the traffic jam is road construction (33.33), also accident and raining that make the road wet and slippery (24.24% and 18.18% accordingly) (Fig.1.2b).

One third of the correspondents said that they can avoid traffic jam by taking another transportation such as MRT or walking, avoid to go on peak hours, and find another route to reach the destination.

In conclusion, majority usually stuck in traffic jam and too many vehicles on the road is the main cause of the traffic jam.