JAKARTA, INDONESIA: In response to demands by businessmen operating in Glodok business district, West Jakarta, the Jakarta administration will delay the afternoon three-in-one traffic restriction by half an hour.

The new time will be from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Currently, the three-in-one policy -- in which a car must carry at least three passengers when passing through the restricted zone from Jl. Sisingamangaraja, South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta, and from the overpass of Jl. S. Parman, Central Jakarta, to Kuningan intersection, South Jakarta -- is applied from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Association of Indonesian Retailers (Aprindo) chairman Handaka Santosa claimed earlier that the three-in-one policy had caused a decline in profit of up to 50 percent for retailers in Glodok.

He said many working people preferred to go straight home rather than visit shopping centers, to avoid being trapped in the restricted zone.

Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso said on Tuesday that he approved the revision, based on a recommendation by transportation experts from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

The ITB team questioned 480 respondents from a variety of business sectors, whose offices are located within the restricted zone, about the impact of the three-in-one policy on their businesses.

Team leader Ofyar Z. Tamin said about 75 percent of the respondents suffered a decline in profit from the traffic restriction, implemented to support the busway, which runs from Blok M to Kota.

"I will issue a decree (on the revision) within a few days. We need to consult with the Jakarta Police prior to implementation of the new policy," Sutiyoso said.

For the long term, Ofyar said, his team had recommended electronic road pricing along the busway corridor as a way of easing the burden on the roads during peak hours.

"It would take time because the city would need to make some investment to implement such a policy," he added.

However, Sutiyoso would not approve the recommendation as it would spark public controversy. "You could say that the (road pricing) policy would favor only the 'haves'," he said.

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