Indonesian media outlets are calling it “a great day” for the distribution service, saying the city that is known for being famous for its traffic jams has finally found a way to tackle it.
Cox Services, a unit of Singapore’s AP Media and Telecom Group, says it has delivered over 250,000 parcels in the city of Jakarta since it launched services in October, delivering more than 28,000 packages on New Year’s Day alone.
The unit says it aims to deliver one package every 20 seconds on New Year’s Day and plans to increase its daily deliveries to 100,000 over the next few months.
“The general concern in the city is how to solve the massive traffic jams during peak hours, and our service has been found effective in alleviating the congestion,” said Hendry Sabiro, who works at Cox Services.
There’s been a shortage of vans in Jakarta in recent months, and Cox Services has imported 50 vans to help improve its delivery services, while introducing more services to offer more delivery options.
The mayor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, said the city is making great efforts to ensure public safety during the holiday period.
“I have heard that there are some people who believe there’s a service that delivers packages for free, but this is not true,” he said.
“So, if you have a package that you want to deliver on New Year’s Day, go and deliver it for free. That way, we can reduce the chaos on the roads and encourage people to spend more time with their families,” he said.
Risks of giving packages away
Businesses in Jakarta are already making use of such services in order to make sure their deliveries are made on time.
Lendina Janarniarni of Bangs Entertainment, which sells light-up toys and products, said the delivery service has made it easier to order for the upcoming holidays.
She said there are always fears that delivery companies will run out of supplies, and they wouldn’t have enough time to deliver the packages during the holidays.
“Last year, there were lots of accidents and traffic jams because of an influx of deliveries. Because of this, we don’t want that this holiday season will be chaotic for everyone,” she said.
The packages that are given to the delivery company are protected by insurance, and she says some companies have offered an insurance premium of about $10 as a premium for every package that is delivered.
According to media reports, several people have filed complaints against delivery companies for violating safety regulations.
There are about 1,500 registered delivery companies in Jakarta, with about 600 having more than 100 vehicles.
With more than 250 million people living in the capital city, according to a 2009 estimate, Jakarta faces severe problems with traffic congestion.
Critics say it is impossible to find a parking space in many areas during peak hours, while some say authorities should take measures to reduce the high demand of driving cars in Jakarta.
Some people have argued that although people are paid by companies to deliver packages for the New Year’s holidays, they should not be paid to deliver parcels for the entire month of January.
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