This worsening congestion is not only occurring in Jakarta, but on roads around the borders of cities like Tanggerang, Surabaya, and Bandung which continue to be packed with motorcycles and cars sitting in traffic for hours. In 2023, the Head of the West Java Transportation Agency revealed that the level of private motor vehicle use in Bandung had reached a staggering 87 percent. In addition, a decline in air quality is occurring across cities in Indonesia as emissions from fossil fuel burning vehicles continue to contribute to the growth of respiratory diseases in children, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups.

The Need for Better Public Transport in Indonesia

This experience with congestion is typical of for most people living in major cities today, forcing many to opt for polluting private vehicles because they lack access to fast, convenient, affordable, and reliable public transport in their city. Out of 44 urban areas in Indonesia with public transport services, 19 would no longer be fully operational in 2023. The quality of the mass transit systems still operating in the other 25 cities is uncertain, which is why millions of Indonesians in these areas do not necessarily find it appealing to choose public transport as their primary travel mode. With limited sustainable mobility options and growing levels of private vehicle use, Indonesia’s six metropolitan areas are estimated to lose up to IDR 77 trillion (USD $1.2 billion) in costs related to productivity, healthcare, fuel, and beyond.

A Gradual Shift Towards Electric Vehicles

Since 2019, the Indonesian government has focused on accelerating the adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) for road transport with the goal of reducing high greenhouse gas emissions and combating air pollution across the board. In response, the Ministry of Transportation set ambitious targets to electrify 90% and 100% of urban mass public transport by 2030 and 2040, respectively, and to electrify all public transport, including widespread microbus services (angkot), by 2045.

However, these targets do not yet have a solid regulatory framework, which leaves uncertainty about the availability of sufficient investment to actually realize these targets. In addition to public transport fleets, the Indonesian government also aims to adopt 13 million electric motorcycles and 2 million electric cars by 2030. Only 124 electric buses are being used in urban public transport systems across three cities currently, accounting for just 0.80% of the target the Ministry of Transportation has set for 2030 just a few years from now.

This indicates an alarmingly low adoption of electric buses across the board for Indonesia as of mid-2024. The adoption of BEVs for 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers is also low compared to the target set by the government. As of October 2023, only 0.58% and 1.02% of the goals have been reached for 2030, respectively. To combat this, the Government of Indonesia is now focused on providing several incentives to stimulate the penetration and purchase of BEVs for consumers and cities. The incentives provided target the provision of BEVs from manufacturers (supply) and the use of BEVs by vehicle users (demand).

The variety of incentives offered varies for 2-wheeled vehicles, 4-wheeled vehicles, and electric buses. One form of incentive provided by the central government since 2023 is a Value Added Tax rebate for 4-wheeled vehicles and electric buses, as well as subsidies for purchasing electric motorbikes in 2024. However, the proposed budget size for BEV incentives still focuses heavily on private 4-wheelers and 2-wheelers, and not public electric buses that we know are critical for enhancing charging infrastructure and encouraging more public transport ridership. To jumpstart its lagging electrification goals, Indonesia’s cities and governments need urgently to focus on and invest in helping cities acquire and build out public e-bus systems first and foremost.

Electrification Needs to Start with Buses

Ensuring quality urban public transport services necessitates a sufficient fleet of modern and reliable vehicles. However, the current population-to-bus ratio in Indonesian cities lags significantly behind that of global cities. For instance, major cities like Singapore, Taipei, Seoul, London, New York, and Shenzhen maintain a ratio between 750 and 1,500 residents per 1 bus unit. Comparatively, as a fellow capital city of a populous developing country, New Delhi’s 1 bus unit caters to nearly 2,500 residents, which is still half of Jakarta’s 5,000 number.

Surprisingly, 1 bus unit in Indonesian cities other than Jakarta serve yet an even larger population. On average, 1 bus unit in BTS Teman Bus cities caters to nearly 22,000 people, 4.5 times higher than that of Jakarta. Encouraging more people to choose sustainable public transport options starts with having enough vehicles, capacity, and fleets to make service accessible and reliable to all residents who may depend on it. The country has an opportunity to double down on both improving public transport and enhancing sustainable mobility by committing to electric buses now.

The mode share of public transport in many of these global cities is also relatively high, ranging from 22% to 60%, far above the mode share of public transit in many major cities in Indonesia which range from as low as 2% to just 15 percent. To address these challenges and provide actionable suggestions to decision-makers, ITDP Indonesia published a National Roadmap and Incentive Program for Road-based Public Transport Electrification earlier this year, released in Bahasa Indonesia. This study and report recommends that electrification should not only be focused on replacing conventional bus fleets, but needs to also prioritize a gradual increase in urban public transport fleets with more zero-emission options in order to ensure a comprehensive and holistic approach to a sustainable mobility future nationwide.