Indonesia Aims for 90% Public Transport Electrification by 2030

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation has set an ambitious goal to electrify 90% of public transportation across 42 cities by 2030. Ahmad Yani, Secretary of the Directorate General of Land Transportation, called the five-year target a bold challenge.

"Can we do it? Can we pull it off? Let's hope so. First, we have to believe," Ahmad said during a handover ceremony for the Public Transportation Electrification Strategy and Roadmap, organized by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Indonesia in Pekanbaru, Riau, on Thursday, June 19. 

A key driver behind the push for electrification is the poor air quality in urban areas, which poses serious health risks. The transportation sector ranks as Indonesia's second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, fueled by the high emissions from motor vehicles and their growing numbers. To tackle this, the government is working to improve public transport services while accelerating their shift to electric systems. 

However, Ahmad highlighted several hurdles in speeding up urban public transport electrification, including high investment costs, limited environmental awareness in both public and private sectors, suboptimal public transport services, and constrained budgets from the State Budget (APBN) and Regional Budgets (APBD).

Several cities have already kicked off electrification efforts. "Pekanbaru is leading the way, followed by DKI Jakarta, which we are familiar with, and Surabaya, which has started. Surakarta is also close behind," Ahmad noted.

He added that studies conducted by ITDP in Pekanbaru, Surabaya, and Surakarta could help the government fast-track the process.

At the same event, ITDP Southeast Asia Director Gonggomtua Sitanggang stressed that achieving rapid adoption of electric buses requires close collaboration between central and local governments.

"First, there needs to be legal certainty around electrification targets," he said. Additionally, the central government should provide fiscal incentives to cities adopting electric buses, given the significant upfront costs.

ITDP estimates that achieving 100% electrification in Pekanbaru, Surabaya, and Surakarta by 2036 will require up to Rp2.45 trillion for electric bus procurement and charging infrastructure. Furthermore, ITDP emphasized the need for technical support, such as implementation guidelines.

"We hope these guidelines can be adopted by Kemenhub, possibly as technical guidance or regulations," Gonggomtua said.

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