Transportation problems have increasingly become bigger. Not only in big cities, the problem also occur in smaller cities such as Yogyakarta. The problem requires serious and professional handling, so the possible negative consequences can be solved well.
Prof. Ir. Sigit Priyanto, M.Sc., Ph.D., in the Senate Hall said this when he was inaugurated as a Professor in the Faculty of Engineering UGM, Wednesday (5/5). The man born in Yogyakarta, 16 November 1960, member of faculty in Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, gave a speech entitled Management Role in Reducing Traffic Jam.
According to Sigit, the conventional solution to traffic jam that orientated in the physical aspect, for example, by increasing the length or width of the street, should no longer be the main choice. Conversely, what is expected is more on other initiatives that focus on traffic management. "We should think about a breakthrough. In this case, traffic management becomes crucial in providing solutions related with the transportation system," he explained.
Traffic problems in urban areas are developing into a problem that needs serious attention. The main factor is caused by the increasing number of vehicles.
Starting in the era of industrialization in the 1950s, the high rise of income of the world population increased the number of people who own motorcycles. In the 1990s more than 600 million vehicles were spread across the globe. This number increased rapidly in the year 2010 which is estimated to reach 1.4 billion.
As an illustration, nowadays in Jakarta the annual road construction is only 1% while the increase of vehicle ownership is 5%. In other words, every day approximately 250 new vehicles are launched in Jakarta, which will occupy at least 1 km of the road. Fortunately, he said, the vehicles are not driven at the same time. Since 1995, the number of vehicle rides has been very high in Indonesian major cities. "For example, in Jakarta it is more than 10 million vehicles per hour, in Surabaya it is more than 2.5 million, in Bandung more than 4.7 million, and in Yogyakarta more than 1.42 million," explained the husband of Prof. Ir. Dwikorita Karnawati, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Although Indonesian vehicle’s mobility is still far smaller than that in the world’s great cities, such as Paris and London, Sigit Priyanto reminded people to keep alert since the negative impact is greater here than that in major cities. This is caused by the transportation systems that have not worked well, for example, the lack of public transportation. This also makes traffic management very important. "The things that should be remembered is that a good traffic management is moving people or goods as many and as much as possible, rather than moving the vehicle as much as possible," explained the father of Amiluhur Priyanto and Umayra Priyanto.
He said that the recent urban area is still characterized by low and limited transportation system availability and service. There is plenty of traffic jams along with a large number of use of personal vehicles. "This problem is getting more complex in line with the declining quality of life in urban areas," added Sigit Priyanto.