25.0 Jakarta Mass Transit, Development Planning and Economics

The subject of Mass Transit always comes up in any conversation about cities with cronic traffic jams such as Jakarta.  The conversation always seems to go something like this, "the solution is a Mass Transit System..." and the replies are always something like, "Its too expensive the government canot afford it so it will never happen"  and the converstation usually stops there just as in real life this has been going on for years. 

Typical Jakarta Traffic Jam

According to recent news reports in the Jakarta Globe, the project still appears to be unsustainable.  The question is has the issue in cases like Jakarta been actually addressed in the correct comprehensive manner?  Lets look at the key factors in Mass Transit or take a step back and look at the issue of tranportation in a metropolis like Jakarta. 

What is the main objective?  To transport people from home to work and to other places of interest or necessity with comfort, efficiency and economy for everyone.  The simple fact is individual auto transport for each individual is not a sustainable solution both from and environmental and now an economic perspective with the price of oil, but also with the cost of space for roads and the resultant waste of time due to traffic jams.