JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan took to riding a Transportation Agency patrol motorcycle to work on Friday morning (Oct 20) due to heavy traffic.

Anies said there had been a traffic jam on the way from his home in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, to City Hall in Central Jakarta because of infrastructure works, including the construction of the Jakarta mass rapid transit (MRT) system.

"The roads are really crowded. The traffic jam this morning was more severe so I had to take a motorbike instead," Anies said at City Hall as quoted by kompas.com.

Anies, however, said the decision did not significantly cut his travel time because of thebike's size, adding that it would have been more efficient to take an ordinary motorcycle.

"I have done this (riding motorbikes) for a long time. For the past 10 years, I always keep a helmet, jacket and mask inside my car, so if I needed to switch to a motorcycle, I'd be ready," Anies said.

Anies was not the only politician to have recently been caught up in Indonesia's notorious traffic woes.

Earlier this month, President Joko Widodo was forced to walk 2km to attend a military parade after his limousine became stuck in traffic in the port city of Cilegon, located about two-and-a-half hours drive from the capital Jakarta.

Videos and photos of the president, clad in a black suit under the hot sun, walking the rest of the way with his entourage later went viral.