Following the release of our 2019 Future of Infrastructure report, we held a series of conversations in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore with clients, planners and stakeholders to better understand what people really want and expect from the infrastructure in their cities.
During each forum a survey was conducted and while the findings represent a small sample, the primary grievance among them was unanimous: congestion and traffic are putting a major strain on their cities. And if we don’t act now, that strain is only going to get worse in the face of continuing rapid urbanisation.
So, what role can infrastructure play in helping to make cities in Southeast Asia more liveable before it’s too late?
The cost of congestion
Most major cities in the region ― with the exception of Singapore ― have not prioritised the development of a well-connected public transportation network. As a result, heavy traffic leaves citizens facing extremely long commutes leading to a massive amount of economic productivity loss and some of the worst air pollution levels in the world.
Air pollution was greatly reduced as stay at home measures were implemented across the region due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, only a major shift towards remote working would help ease congestion given that the major regional cities are densely populated, have limited road right of way and are underserved by public transport systems. As workers return, roadway traffic volumes have started to return to pre-pandemic levels and in some cases use of low occupancy private vehicles may even increase due to the demands of social distancing.
The economic cost of congestion is significant. Studies estimate that the region loses approximately two to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP) due to heavy traffic. Metro Manila is considered to have the worst traffic, which is equivalent to an estimated daily economic loss of ₱3.5 billion (US$67 million). With the rising number of vehicles in the region, the situation could worsen to ₱5.4 billion a day by 2035 if no intervening steps are taken.
Meanwhile, it is estimated that congestion in Greater Jakarta is costing the country 65 trillion rupiah (US$4.6 billion) annually'How Congested Jakarta is? Perception of Jakarta’s Citizen on Traffic Congestion. Economics and Finance in Indonesia.
– but the true impact could be higher. The costs of environmental deterioration, cancelled transactions, lower productivity and competitive advantage relative to other major big cities are not accounted for in that figure.
Beyond the economic cost is the toll that being stuck in traffic takes on the average commuter. In Manila, it’s not uncommon for a 30-kilometre commute to take two hours on a good day and three hours on a particularly bad day, taking away time – one of our most precious resources – from a host of other activities.
The ‘last kilometre’ problem
The journey from metro station to final destination – the so-called ‘last kilometre’ – is one of the key reasons commuters are not satisfied with their public transportation, according to our survey results. Respondents said that essential integration between rail systems and other modes of transport was underdeveloped.
Public rail systems have historically developed from inter-urban networks. While Tokyo and Shanghai have highly interconnected networks (700 km and 590 km respectively), Jakarta and Manila’s combined urban rail network amounts to just 100 kilometres. Recent moves to close this gap are starting to provide options for daily commuters – KVMRT Line 1 in Malaysia and PT Phase 1 in Jakarta are good examples of Mass Rapid Transport networks – but the region is undersupplied.
