JAKARTA • The Jakarta administration will reimpose the odd-even licence plate policy for vehicles today in a bid to limit unnecessary car travel as the Covid-19 pandemic wears on.

Jakarta Transportation Agency head Syafrin Liputo said the odd-even traffic policy aims to prevent the accumulation of travellers on the road.

"We hope the policy will deter people from making unnecessary trips. For example, cars with odd-numbered licence plates would stay at home," he said last Friday, as reported by kompas.com.

"The pattern (of restrictions) is expected to decrease traffic volume and, most importantly, ensure that there will not be an accumulation in public spaces."

Under the policy, vehicles with licence plates ending with odd numbers will be allowed to travel only on odd-numbered dates on 25 major streets in Jakarta during peak hours.

Those with plates ending with even numbers can travel on these Jakarta streets only on even dates.

The peak hours are between 6am and 10am, and 4pm and 9pm on weekdays.

The policy was lifted by the administration in the early days of the Covid-19 outbreak in March.

Mr Syafrin said the administration decided to reimpose the policy as traffic has been increasing since the Indonesian capital began its transition out of large-scale social restrictions to curb the pandemic.

Indonesia yesterday reported 1,519 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total to 111,455. There were 43 new Covid-19-related deaths, bringing the toll to 5,236.

"From our analysis, the traffic volume in some parts of the capital has increased beyond the normal condition before the pandemic," Mr Syafrin said.

The 25 thoroughfares where the policy will be enforced include Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, Jalan MH Thamrin, Jalan Jenderal Sudirman and Jalan Gatot Subroto.

THE JAKARTA POST/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK