Do Car Free Days Get Cyclists to Commute?

Car Free Days (CFD) are popular in Jakarta. (They’re called Hari Bebas Kendaraan Bermotor, or HBKB, in Indonesian.) Every Sunday morning at least one major street has several or all of its lanes reserved for pedestrians and bicyclists. The biggest such event occurs twice a month along Jalan Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin. While it seems undeniable that CFDs provide a rare chance for recreation in a wide open space, many believe that CFDs also reduce pollution in the short and long term, in the latter case by promoting cycling as a form of transportation – not only as recreation.

So I’ve tried to assess this. The short (and tentative) conclusion is that these events might help to maintain the few cyclists who currently commute, and perhaps they result in a slow accretion of commuters, but they do not seem to inspire significant numbers to try commuting for the first time.

Formulir wawancara anggota B2W

Om/Tante yth: Jika Anda anggota Bike2Work di Jabodetabek, tolong membantu penelitian ini dengan melengkapi formulir ini – atau setidaknya bagiannya.

Ayo! Cycling as Transportation in Jakarta

Many Jakartans ride bicycles for pleasure on Sundays and other low-traffic times. Multitudes of others use bicycles as their business location, perhaps selling tea in parks. But have you ever considered riding a bike here for basic transportation, instead of taking a car? Lots of people do this, and I’m one of them. From Menteng, I ride to the malls, parks, the Embassy, a Busway stop, and the American Club area.

Why?

The reasons for cycling here are the same as elsewhere: it’s pollution-free, it’s good exercise, it’s a great way to feel a closer connection to your surroundings. I also bike as part of my research.

Equipment

To ride in Jakarta, I recommend the same equipment as anywhere else: a helmet, a blinking rear light, a lock, a route, and … a bike, dong.

Lecture notes on transportation in Jakarta

Recently I gave a public lecture at the University of Indonesia. I summarized selected aspects of my ongoing research on transportation, individual and institutional behavior change, and air pollution in Jabodetabek, aka Greater Jakarta. This post provides links to the slideshow from that presentation, in PDF format.

• Versi dalam Bahasa Indonesia: Perubahan Perilaku dan Transportasi di Jabodetabek
• Version in English: Behavior Change and Transportation in Jabodetabek

I hope that the gist is clear. If not, please use the form below to ask for more information.

Jalur sepeda populer: Lebih dari cuma cat

Pengumuman baru bahwa Jakarta Utara berencana untuk mengembangkan jalur sepeda sepanjang 50 kilometer adalah berita yang memang berharap. Banyak warga Jakarta telah menunjukkan antusiasme untuk gowes di Hari Bebas Kendaraan Bermotor dan pada nomor tak terhitung funbikes; banyak lain tergantung pada bersepeda untuk mendapatkan mata pencaharian mereka. Juga, antara manfaat lain, bersepeda merupakan cara praktis untuk pulang-pergi kerja dan untuk menjalankan tugas – secara yang mengurangi toksisitas udara Jakarta dan kontribusi Indonesia terhadap pemanasan global. Jadi mari kita berharap bahwa dana yang disediakan.

Namun jalur sepeda baru akan diabaikan sama dengan yang di Blok M, Bekasi, dan Bandung kecuali pemerintah dan kelompok pro-sepeda melakukan langkah-langkah spesifik untuk memastikan popularitas jalur di antara pengendara sepeda.

Pertama dan terpenting, hambatan fisik harus memblokir sepeda motor dan kendaraan bermotor lain dari sepanjang jalur sepeda. Walikota Jakarta Utara menyatakan bahwa hambatan akan didirikan di lokasi berbahaya, tapi secara pasti sepeda motor akan membahayakan pengendara sepeda di mana saja motor dapat melakukan perjalanan tanpa hambatan.

Successful bike lanes: More than just paint

The recent announcement that North Jakarta plans to develop fifty kilometers of bike lanes is hopeful news indeed. Multitudes of Jakartans have shown their enthusiasm for cycling on Car Free Days and at untold numbers of funbikes; many others depend on cycling to earn their livelihood. Also, among other benefits, bicycling represents a practical way to commute and to run errands that reduces the toxicity of Jakarta’s air and Indonesia’s contribution to global warming. So let’s hope that funding is provided.

But the new bike lanes will suffer the same neglect as those in Blok M, Bekasi, and Bandung unless the government and cycling groups take specific steps to ensure the lanes’ popularity among cyclists.

First and foremost, physical obstacles must block motorbikes and other vehicles along the entire length of the bicycle lane – thus making it a bicycle “path.” The mayor of North Jakarta stated that barriers will be erected at dangerous locations, but motorbikes will endanger cyclists anywhere they can travel without hindrance.

Social marketing

What is social marketing?

Social marketing is using the techniques of marketing to change behaviors – influencing people to change their practices rather than simply to buy products. It has been used to help people quit smoking, use different light bulbs, and study more effectively. It could help people choose less-polluting transportation here in Jakarta.

When to use social marketing?

„If motivating people to change is:

• Easy or unimportant, then education might be appropriate – for example, providing information about train schedules or the location of bicycle lanes works for people who already are committed to these forms of transportation. But generally (and sadly) education is less effective than marketing or force.

Bicycle parking in Jakarta / Parkir sepeda di Jakarta

parkir sepeda di Pasar Festival

Many Jakartans own bikes and enjoy riding them. But obstacles to using them as everyday transportation include 1) the lack of infrastructure – for example, bike paths, parking areas, storage areas on trains or buses – and 2) the lack of information about the infrastructure that exists. The following list, which I’ll update as my experience grows, is meant to help address the second issue. Similarly, Bike2Work has a map; unfortunately, some of the information is out-of-date, and the descriptions of parking areas don’t specify whether they’re open to the public. If you know of another location, please tell me using the form below, and I’ll add it to this list.

Parkir sepeda that I have observed or used (all are open to the public):

Jakarta needs more people? Jakarta?

Glodok area of Jakarta

Tonight I attended a presentation by a couple of researchers from the World Bank. One of them made the “counterintuitive” assertion that Jakarta’s public transportation required greater density. He then mentioned, among other places, Curitiba, Brazil – the home of Bus Rapid Transit – as a model. When I spoke with him afterward, he again contended that 1) greater density, by itself, would lead to improved public transit in Jakarta and 2) Curitiba was denser.

So what’s wrong here?

Malmö, Sweden: ridiculously good traffic program

The efforts to promote mass transit and cycling in Malmö, Sweden, are truly inspirational. I perform research on behavioral change – institutional and individual – related to transportation in Jakarta. The goal is to aid efforts that will reduce air pollution – for easier breathing and for reduced global warming. Malmö has perhaps the most committed and creative efforts to do this. While local conditions vary, other polities could adapt much of what the Malmöans are doing.

• The city’s website provides information on a large range of ambitious programs to promote sustainability – not just in transportation.
• This brochure describes initiatives relating directly to traffic. It’s not for specialists: it features everyday language and big, pretty pictures. It certainly inspired me. I particularly like the way that they combine social marketing with engineering: building nice facilities is important but only part of promoting change.
• The “No Ridiculous Car Trips”campaign is the most famous aspect of Malmö’s efforts. Its goal is to get drivers to think twice before using their cars for short journeys. Other cities have copied this program. Here’s a video about it: