Most days the main thoroughfare in central Jakarta is noisy, polluted and congested with cars and motorcycles. But two Sundays a month, people-powered vehicles own the road. A program called Car-Free Sunday is growing in popularity in Indonesia’s sprawling capital because it shows what the city could be.
On a typical day, frustrated people stuck in traffic in Jakarta see the city for what it is, a chaotic mega-city. But on Car-Free Sundays the main street in center of the city becomes a people-friendly zone.
Here thousands of bike riders take over the road. Car-Free Sundays began in 2007 as a once a month environmental program to reduce pollution in Jakarta. Over the years, it has grown in popularity and frequency. It now happens twice a month and the idea has spread to other cities in Indonesia.