Disappointed With Heru Budi, B2W Revokes Jakarta Award, Anies Baswedan's Cycling Friendly City

Illustration of bicycle lanes in DKI Jakarta (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Bike to Work (B2W) cyclist community revoked the Jakarta award as a provincial-level bicycle-friendly city throughout Indonesia. This award was given to former DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan in 2021. The revocation of this award was carried out as an expression of disappointment with the Acting Governor (Pj) of DKI Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono. "As of Tuesday 7 November 2023, we revoked the award, and stated that the City of Jakarta was killed as a bicycle-friendly city," wrote the B2W Indonesia Instagram account, quoted on Wednesday, November 8. The award for a bicycle-friendly city that was obtained in the Anies era because B2W considered that Jakarta was the most massive city to build a bicycle lane. However, during one year Heru Budi served as Acting Governor of DKI, B2W assessed that the DKI Provincial Government showed very contrary to the efforts made during Anies' leadership.

This, according to B2W, is reflected in the absence of a budget for increasing the length of bicycle lanes in the 2023 APBD, then dismantling the bicycle lane at Santa's red light, South Jakarta.

Then, it is also based on the dismantling of stick cones or bicycle lane barriers on 13 roads, as well as the budget for adding bicycle lanes that are not budgeted again in the 2024 APBD draft. "We are of the view that it is not good - it will only be a joke that is not funny - maintaining the award, while the actual condition, at this time, is very far from what is considered good when the award is given," he said.