JAKARTA - Efforts to create a more environmentally friendly transportation system are increasingly becoming a concern in various countries, including Indonesia.
In the midst of increasing urban mobility, the development of sustainable transportation is considered to be one of the important steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and provide more efficient public transportation services.
The transportation sector is still one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions. In addition, the high dependence of the community on private vehicles also has an impact on congestion, fuel consumption, and the increasing cost of household transportation. This condition encourages various parties to accelerate the transformation towards a cleaner transportation system.
One of the approaches that has begun to be widely implemented is the electrification of public transportation, especially through the use of electric buses. Compared to fossil-fuelled buses, electric buses produce lower emissions when operating and are considered capable of supporting long-term emission reduction targets.
However, the process of transitioning to an electric fleet does not only depend on the availability of technology. Regulatory aspects, financing, readiness of charging infrastructure, to strengthening the domestic industry are important factors so that implementation can run sustainably.
This is one of the discussions in a multi-stakeholder dialogue entitled "Preparation of a Legal Basis and Action Plan for the Adoption of Electric Buses for Urban Public Transportation in Indonesia" which was held by the Ministry of Transportation together with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Indonesia in Jakarta.
The forum brought together a number of ministries, agencies, and transportation operators to align views on the target for the electrification of public transportation fleets, the preparation of regulations, and implementation steps in the future.
Director of Road Transport of the Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Muiz Thohir, representing Director General of Land Transportation Aan Suhanan, said that the electrification of public transportation is one of the important strategies in supporting more sustainable transportation.
"Electrification of urban public transportation is one of the very important strategies. However, the success of the adoption of electric buses requires strong regulatory support, sustainable financing mechanisms, readiness of charging infrastructure, and strengthening of the national industry," he said.
According to him, collaboration across ministries and various stakeholders is needed so that the policies that are formulated do not stop at the study stage, but can be realized in real implementation.
A similar view was expressed by the Director of Southeast Asia ITDP Indonesia, Gonggomtua Sitanggang. He assessed the success of the electrification of public transportation requires the support of an integrated ecosystem.
"The success of the electrification of public transportation is not only determined by technology, but also by coordinated policies, strong institutions, good coordination among stakeholders, and sustainable funding models. Now the challenge is no longer to determine the direction, but to ensure that all supporting elements can move in harmony and be supported by a strong regulatory foundation," he said.
During the forum, ITDP Indonesia also presented an update on the roadmap for the electrification of urban buses, which was compiled based on regional readiness, fiscal capacity, and fleet renewal cycles. The roadmap proposes a gradual electrification target for the fleet to reach 100 percent by 2045.
According to the study presented, the acceleration of the use of electric buses has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next two decades. In addition, this step is also expected to reduce the need for fuel subsidies and encourage the growth of the national electric vehicle industry.
From the results of the discussion, the forum participants agreed that accelerating the adoption of electric buses requires special regulations that are able to regulate targets, division of roles between institutions, and coordination mechanisms between the central government, local governments, public transportation operators, and vehicle manufacturers.
The continued discussion will also focus on the preparation of an action plan that includes implementation stages, division of responsibilities, funding mechanisms, and monitoring and evaluation systems.
The transformation towards sustainable transportation is considered not only to contribute to reducing emissions, but also has the potential to improve the quality of public transportation services.
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