Sandy Hausman reports on a creative way that Indonesians have found to get around new traffic control rules:

• Projections suggest that by 2014 traffic will become so bad in Jakarta that there will be a total girdlock.
• To deal with this lawmakers set up special lanes which only cars with three or more people can drive on during rush hour.
• This has led to groups of people raising their index finger at the entry to these zones, offering to sit in the car to make up the numbers.
• Such passengers can make anywhere between $1 and $2.35 per trip.
• Not only do they earn money, but the people who can afford to pay have nice cars in which they can enjoy the air conditioning and the radio. It’s also an opportunity to explore the city.
• The practice is illegal although it has become so successful that lawmakers are considering creating a toll road with the proceeds being used to finance a public transit system.

To read more including details about the future of traffic congestion in Jakarta, what happens to those who get caught, why mothers have an advantage, the safety of the practice, how long some commutes can be without the lane, the stalled mass transit system, and what providers and users of the service have to say, click here.

Source: The World

Via: Marginal Revolution