Chairman Of The MPR RI Encourages The Development Of Special Bicycle Lines

Chairman of the MPR RI Bambang Soesatyo when opening the Gowes with the Jakarta Bike Community (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly Bambang Soesatyo encouraged the development of a special bicycle lane as a form of local government support for changes in people's healthier lifestyles.

According to the man who is familiarly called Bamsoet, his cycling lifestyle has received a positive trend since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and this could be a bridge to reduce the use of motorized vehicles for short-distance transportation.

"Therefore, local governments need to support this cycling activity, by preparing more special bicycle lanes," he said, quoted by Antara, Sunday.

This was conveyed by Bamsoet after opening the Gowes with the Jakarta Bike Community in the third anniversary series of the Solidarity Justice Movement (GERAK BS) on Sunday morning.

Gowes together traveled 40 km from Sudirman across the MPR/DPR RI Building until it ended up in Tamarind and Lime Resto in Senopati.

He also appreciated the achievements of the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government which claims that there are more than 300 km of special bicycle lanes in the capital city.

According to Bamsoet, although the effectiveness of its use is still debated, at least DKI has made a breakthrough through the provision of special bicycle lanes.

He mentioned that the Netherlands even though it took more than 50 years to optimize the effectiveness of special bicycle lanes on the highway.

"The ITDP survey in 2021 reports on the bicycle lane of Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, in a span of 14 hours on weekdays, there are around 2,194 cyclists passing from 06.00 to 20.00 WIB. That shows that basically our people really like cycling, because it needs to be supported by effective and efficient facilities and infrastructure," he said.

The man who is also the General Chair of the Indonesian Motor Association (IMI) also encourages cyclists to consider buying bicycles made by the nation's children, whose quality is no less than imported bicycles.

This, continued Bamsoet, has been directly exemplified by the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo who uses many domestically made bicycles to exercise.

"There are brands of Kreuz, Polygon, Elements, and many other brands. By buying domestic bicycles, we have contributed to national industrial growth and job opening. Bike boom blessings must be enjoyed by national business actors, not even profitable imports," he said.