Jakarta –
Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan compared road construction during the era of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). Anies assessed that the construction of free non-toll roads during the Jokowi era was inferior to SBY.
But Jokowi excels in building toll roads. So, which one do people need more, toll roads or non-toll roads?
Public Policy Observer from Trisakti University, Trubus Rahadiansyah, argues that in the modern era, Indonesia needs more toll roads. Access to toll roads is easier to calculate and streamlines logistics flows.
“Toll roads are needed more because they are faster and costs can be calculated. Trucks and buses prefer to use toll roads, because the costs can be calculated. Non-toll costs have many unexpected costs, not to mention safety, lots of squirrels jump, lazy people on the side of the road ask a lot money,” he said when contacted by detikcom, Monday (22/5/2023).
“There are no extortions on the toll road, he went straight to it. You only pay for the toll road, security is guaranteed,” he continued.
He also highlighted the role of the toll road during the Lebaran homecoming. Toll roads are considered capable of breaking down congestion so that the homecoming flow in 2023 will be smoother. In addition, there are no ‘horror’ traffic jams like on non-toll roads.
“The evidence is that during Idul Fitri the flow of homecoming is relatively smoother. It means that the use of toll roads is more optimal in serving the flow of travelers. For non-toll roads, extraordinary traffic jams occur. Toll roads are more manageable. For example one way, contra flow, odd-even, ” he explained.
Meanwhile, the Director of the Center for Economic and Law Studies (Celios), Bhima Yudhistira, considers that the most important thing in road construction is utility or usability, not the length or type of road. Road construction must also be able to reduce logistics costs.
“So actually the criticism is that he wants toll roads, as well as roads in the regions, the utility is being looked at. So now the problem in the Jokowi era is that there are many toll roads, it turns out that the utilities used for logistics transportation are very few. So that non-toll roads can be much more effective, ” he said.
In addition, he assessed that the construction of a toll road requires a large amount of money. This has the potential for state finances but the benefits felt are not comparable.
“According to this competitiveness, road construction is expensive. It is a burden on state finances and SOEs serve various assignments, but the benefits felt by the community are not comparable,” said Bhima.
He said that if the focus of development is on damaged roads or in remote areas, it will be felt more by the community. However, toll roads can also provide optimal benefits if the construction connects industrial areas and ports.
“So it’s not comparing the length of the road. Whatever road it is, what you see is how much impact the road construction has on the people’s economy,” he added.
Previously, Anies initially explained that the construction of toll roads during the Jokowi era was indeed large, in fact, 63% of toll roads in Indonesia were built during 2014 until now. In total there are 1,569 kilometers long, out of a total of 2,499 kilometers of toll roads in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the national road that Jokowi succeeded in building, according to the data he presented, was only 19,000 kilometers long.
(hns/hns)
2023-05-22 15:54:50
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