Jakarta’s Jalan Sabang was once teeming with pedestrians walking to a meal at one of the street’s many restaurants. Today, it’s a chaotic stretch of cars, motorcycles and three-wheelers tooting their horns as they jostle for space.

At peak hours, the two-way street in Central Jakarta is reduced to a single lane, with vehicles parked haphazardly. Drivers stay stuck for up to 20 minutes on a stretch that should take five.

The bright side? It’s not yet as bad as it will be in 2014, when the capital faces the grim prospect of total gridlock, according to a recent report.

Indonesia’s booming economy powered by strong domestic consumption pushed car sales nationwide up 58 per cent last year from a year earlier.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/jakarta/jakarta-gridlock/467458