Norway-based tolling and ticketing solution provider Q-Free offered the Jakarta administration Wednesday an electronic road pricing (ERP) system, which is expected to help the capital ease traffic jams.
“The city may need the ERP system offered by Q-Free,” said Governor Fauzi Bowo, who welcomed the company’s representatives at City Hall.
“But we still need to study it as the system needs to be applied differently in each city,” he said.
The capital might need a different application than that of city-state Singapore because it has numerous entrances and exits to main thoroughfares, he said.
“Singapore applies the system on streets providing one entrance and one exit, which makes it more controllable,” said Fauzi.
Q-Free vice president of sales Per Fredrik Ecker said an ERP system project could cost up to US$980 million in initial investment in London, England, and around $155 million in initial investment in Stockholm, Sweden.
The company has run ERP projects in those two cities before.
“The investment in Stockholm was quite high because we only had six months to implement the system, while we normally need 12 months, including a period of system trials,” said Ecker.
Fauzi said he expected the city, which was still conducting feasibility studies, would be able to try out the system next year.
In February, Japan-based consultancy team Pacific Consultants International (PCI) recommended the governor charge vehicles Rp 15,000 ($1.60) for entering ERP zones.
The PCI is also conducting feasibility studies for the implementation of the system and expects to finish next year.
Transportation experts have called on the governor to implement the system as it will discourage motorists from using vehicles and will help soothe traffic congestion.
