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Investor Daily - Kemenhub pacu penggunaan bus listrik
22 May 2024
By Ichsan Amin
Jakarta, ID – The Transportation Ministry is accelerating the adoption of electric buses for urban public transportation as the number of fossil fuel vehicle users remain high.
This was stated by Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi at the Sustainable e-Mobility Event: Upscaling Bus Electrification Nationwide held by Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Indonesia in Jakarta on Tuesday (21/5/2024).
“The Transportation Ministry is continuously prioritising low-carbon emission transportation and improved air quality. Therefore, we are accelerating the electrification of public transportation by introducing electric buses in urban areas,” the Transportation Minister said.
He explained that the number of private vehicle users in Indonesia were still higher than the number of public transportation users. Therefore, he continued that the government was committed to lowering greenhouse gas emissions based on the 2020-2024 strategic plan.
Furthermore, the Transportation Minister also explained that Presidential Regulation Number 79 of 2023 on Acceleration of the Battery Electric Vehicle Programme for Road Transportation has been issued. Therefore, the Transportation Ministry will prepare an e-mobility implementation road map for the BRT mass transportation programme in Indonesia.
The plan involves establishing urban transportation using the BTS scheme and deploying electric bus fleets in two cities with eight buses in Bandung and 14 buses in Surabaya. Additionally, the Mastran programme will also be introduced in Medan and Bandung, also utilising electric buses.
Regional government commitment
The Transportation Minister highlighted several challenges in implementing electric public transportation in Indonesia. These challenges include the suboptimal commitment of regional governments to public transportation and the lack of necessary facilities and infrastructure, such as charging stations for an electric bus fleet.
“The central government has been working to procure electric vehicles, but I believe support from regional governments is lacking. The most important aspect is that both the central government and regional governments must take responsibility for providing eco-friendly public transportation,” the Transportation Minister revealed.
The Transportation Minister also acknowledges that procuring electric vehicles is not cheap. According to him, the prices of electric vehicles can be double those of conventional vehicles.
“I believe one key component to focus on for electric vehicles is their batteries. Therefore, I hope the ITDP and other relevant parties can find ways to acquire these batteries affordably,” the Transportation Minister explained.
Meanwhile, Djoko Setijowarno, a transportation observer from Unika Soegijapranata in Semarang, stated that to establish a public transportation ecosystem, especially one based on electricity or batteries, the government must strengthen its policy. He suggested that public transportation should be determined as an obligatory priority and a basic service for the people.
“Therefore, Law Number 23/2014 on Regional Administration must be revised. In the revision, transportation must be set as a necessity. The revision must also strengthen regional regulations on public transportation to be 5% on public transportation,” he told Investor Daily.
He added that, following the strengthening of policies on basic services for the people, regional governments must prioritise the procurement of public transportation vehicles and routes. These facilities and infrastructure will encourage people to shift from private vehicles to mass transportation.
“To establish the ecosystem, the government needs to implement cross-sectoral collaborations, such as among banks and housing developers in Bodetabek (Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi). However, public transportation still needs to be subsidised by the government as it is part of the government’s obligation,” he added.
Recommendation of 11 priority cities
Southeast Asia ITDP Director Gongomtua Sitanggang stated that the implementation of 6,600 electric buses in 11 priority cities could potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25% by 2030. This reduction is equivalent to 1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
“The study conducted in this partnership can serve as a strategic foundation for achieving the national electric bus implementation target by 2030. It will be instrumental in preparing action plans, policies, and incentive programmes aimed at increasing electric bus adoption,” Gonggom explained.
Additionally, the same study reveals that the implementation of 6,600 electric buses in 11 priority cities requires an investment cost of over Rp40 trillion until 2030.
Due to the high investment cost, ITDP Indonesia is urging the government to offer discount incentives for purchasing electric buses. This could boost electric bus adoption, particularly during the initial stages of implementation.
“This is also a form of the government’s support in accelerating the electrification programme. Not only for private vehicles, but also for public transportation,” he stated.
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