Eight INKA Electric Bus Units Officially Operate In Bandung

Photo: Doc. Antara

JAKARTA - Eight units of E-Inobus electric buses made by PT Industri Kereta Api or PT INKA (Persero) were officially operated in Bandung, West Java, along with the start of the mass transportation system master plan in Greater Bandung.

Senior Manager of TJSL and Stakeholder Relations of PT INKA (Persero) Bambang Ramadhiarto stated that the operation of the electric bus in Bandung is the second city after Surabaya on December 20, 2022.

"We have provided eight electric bus units in Bandung, and Bandung is the second city to operate the E-Inobus electric bus after Surabaya. This electric bus is a fleet of transportation for the G20 Summit yesterday, which is 8 meters long dimensional," said Bambang in his statement in Madiun, quoted from Antara, Sunday, December 25.

The electric buses operated in Bandung, he said, can accommodate 19 to 25 passengers and have a battery capacity of 138 kWh with charging or charging time of 1 to 3 hours.

"With this capacity, the E-Inobus electric bus can cover a distance of 160 kilometers," he said.

He said that PT INKA (Persero) also produces chargers (chargers) for electric buses with the SETRUM brand which is an acronym for Sustainable Energy to Revivenate the Environment.

"The chesser has voltage 380 Vac input with a maximum output power of 120 kW or 60 kW x 2," he explained.

Meanwhile, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil was very enthusiastic about the operation of the 8 electric buses made by INKA.

He assessed that the existence of environmentally friendly and comfortable public transportation is a solution to the challenge of overcoming congestion in the city of Bandung and its surroundings in the future because 84 percent of Bandung residents use private vehicles.

"In 2030 years, if this is allowed, when everything gets out of the house will be jammed. What is the solution? One of them is let's slowly change the lifestyle to move to public transportation," Ridwan said at a kick off event or launch of the Bandung Raya Massuli Transport. Go Green.

He explained that Bandung's mass transportation, especially Bandung basin, had started on Saturday (24/12) with the presence of the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) route for the city of Bandung using eight electric buses.

"Alhamdulillah, the eight electric buses were produced domestically from PT INKA in East Java with a capacity of 19 plus 5 of about 25 passengers," he said.

Ridwan added that the topography of Bandung is different from other areas such as Jakarta, Semarang, or Surabaya, where the land is flat and the road is wide.

Bandung's basin from colonial times was in the form of small roads, winding and hilly, so there were many challenges in mass transportation.

"Therefore, we will use BRT, which has launched an electric bus today," said Ridwan.

During the launch of the Greater Bandung Go Green Mass Transmigration, the President Director of PT INKA (Persero) Budi Noviantoro and a number of ranks were also present.