“There is a need for the support of cities and the collaboration of various parties in achieving 100% electricity-based urban mass transportation in Indonesia by 2045.”

Mr. Suharto, the Indonesia Ministry of Transportation’s Director of Road Transport, emphasized the need for this multilevel, multi-stakeholder approach to the deployment of electric buses during the TUMI E-Bus Mission City Network kick off event on 16 April 2022.

Aiming to get the TUMI E-Bus Mission City Network initiative off the ground, the event gathered over 45 participants from local governments, national government agencies, non-government organizations, and bus operators to discuss the challenges faced by and opportunities awaiting cities in the adoption of e-buses as a sustainable public transportation solution. 

The TUMI E-Bus Mission City Network is the first city-focused learning network initiative on a global scale aiming to accelerate the transition towards the adoption of e-buses in public transport. Through knowledge exchanges, the City Network seeks to cultivate sustainable public transportation in cities and help governments achieve their net-zero targets.

Bandung, Bogor, Denpasar, Medan, Palembang, Pekanbaru, and Semarang are the Indonesian cities currently part of the TUMI E-Bus Mission City Network.

There are currently seven Indonesian cities actively participating in the City Network, namely Bandung, Bogor, Denpasar, Medan, Palembang, Pekanbaru, and Semarang.

The TUMI E-Bus Mission has three main pillars as explained by Mr. Rohan Shailesh Modi, Advisor at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), during the event. These are: (1) supporting deep dive cities in developing e-bus roadmaps; (2) supporting network cities through basic and advanced training programs; and (3) developing a global coalition of stakeholders from the private sector, NGOs, and local governments.

Potholes on the road to e-bus transition

Mr. Suharto, the Director of Road Transport of Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation (right) highlights the Indonesian target of 100% electrification of public transportation by 2045. Meanwhile, Mr. Alfisahr Ferdian, Transport Associate of ITDP Indonesia (left), presents the opportunities in developing e-buses in Indonesian cities.

Mr. Alfisahr Ferdian, Transport Associate of the Indonesia Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Indonesia explained Jakarta’s experience as an early adopter of e-buses. To illustrate potential benefits that await the E-Bus Mission network cities, he shared that Jakarta has effectively reduced the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by 35% compared to non-bus rapid transit (BRT) at 29%.

Additionally, the adoption of e-buses in Jakarta has positively impacted both the city’s environment and its people— especially the vulnerable groups and low-income communities—in aspects of equity and accessibility.

However, to implement and reap the benefits of e-buses, Indonesian cities must overcome various hurdles, including policy, financing, infrastructure, technical aspects, and human resource capacity.

“The limited budget and the provision of infrastructure such as central charging stations are some of the challenges for Bogor City to implement e-buses. Cooperation and assistance from various parties such as the national government and NGOs are required to support the implementation,” shared Ms. Febby Lestari, Subcoordinator of Economy and Natural Resources of the Bogor City Development Planning Agency.

Participants during the TUMI E-Bus Mission City Network kick off event held last 16 April 2022.

Despite these challenges, the network cities expressed their willingness to adopt e-buses in the future. This shift to more sustainable modes of transportation aligns with and supports the Indonesian government’s goal of achieving net-zero by 2060 or sooner.

“This is an opportunity for all parties to collaborate in achieving a sustainable transportation system and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector in Indonesia,” said Ms. Lestari.

The TUMI E-Bus Mission City Network is implemented under the TUMI E-Bus Mission program funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). DKI Jakarta is Indonesia’s deep-dive city for the TUMI E-Bus Mission program. ICLEI Indonesia and the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) India jointly conduct the City Network initiative and its peer-to-peer exchanges and training activities in the country.

ICLEI and its other coalition partners under the TUMI E-Bus Mission Program are working towards ensuring procurement readiness of around 10,000 e-buses by 2025 in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Learn more at the TUMI website.