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Transjakarta mulls going green with electric buses
Electrified: Two battery-powered Transjakarta buses are on display at the Busworld South East Asia 2019 exhibition held at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday
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lectrified: Two battery-powered Transjakarta buses are on display at the Busworld South East Asia 2019 exhibition held at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.(JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
In May, Jakartans will experience the future of transportation through the operation of electric buses, which, although pricier to purchase than the fossil fuel-powered ones, will ensure the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
“We want to enter the future of transportation, which is through electric buses,” Transjakarta president director Agung Wicaksono said after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between China’s electric automaker BYD Automobile, Indonesian bus manufacturer PT Mobil Anak Bangsa (MAB), Taiwan’s RAC Electric Vehicles, Danish engineering company Danfoss and the Bandung Institute of Technology on Thursday.
The route during the May trial run will be from Senayan traffic circle in South Jakarta to the National Monument in Central Jakarta. The trial aims to familiarize Jakartans with the buses. The six-month trial run also aims to determine how many electric buses Transjakarta would need in addition to its current fleet, as well as the additional infrastructure needed to support electric buses and see how well the buses perform on Jakarta’s streets.
Two charging spots for electric buses in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, have also been prepared.
“We do not have a minimum number [of electric buses that need to be purchased] but we want them to fulfill our operational criteria,” Agung said.
He was sure it was possible for Jakarta to be fully served by electric buses, citing that Shenzhen in China had 16,000 electric buses.
Transjakarta, however, would have a slower route to electrification, as local industry and technology should first fully adapt to electric vehicles.
MAB president director Leonard said the bus manufacturer was optimistic about the trial with Transjakarta.
“We conducted testing with [state-owned airport operator] PT Angkasa Pura II at [Soekarno-Hatta International Airport] during the Asian Games and Para Games [in August 2018]. Our electric buses were used there,” Leonard said.
He said the company had manufactured and produced all of the bus parts, except the battery, machine and controller of the vehicles, which are manufactured overseas.
The company had also developed three electric bus prototypes, the latest of which was being tested at the Transportation Ministry. The company is also processing a manufacturing permit with the Industrial Ministry, Leonard added
Electric buses are not the only way Transjakarta has tried to be environmentally friendly.
Fauzi Bowo, the governor from 2007 to 2012, introduced a clean air program called Langit Biru (blue sky) and pushed for Transjakarta buses and bajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicles) to use compressed natural gas (CNG).
In 2016, Transjakarta operated 1,200 gas-powered buses. However, in 2017 it only operated 800. In 2018, out of 2,150 Transjakarta buses only 370 used CNG, according to Transjakarta service director Daud Joseph.
Despite no plans being in place to procure additional gas-powered buses, Transjakarta has other ways to implement environmentally friendly measures, Transjakarta technical director Wijanarko said.
“The point is that we are trying every way to be environmentally friendly, for example if the bus still uses biosolar fuel we try to use Euro 3 standard fuel, or the newest bus technologies that emits the least exhaust fumes,” Wijanarko said.
He said even if Transjakarta was to use more gas-powered buses, the lack of CNG filling stations (SPBGs) would present a challenge.
There are 18 SPBGs in the city, which are managed by PT Pertamina Retail, a subsidiary of state-owned energy holding company Pertamina; state-owned gas company Perusahaan Gas Negara; PT Jakarta Utilitas Propertindo, a subsidiary of city-owned PT Jakarta Propertindo; and private gas company PT T Energy.
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy Indonesia director Yoga Adi Winarto applauded Transjakarta’s move to trial electric buses but highlighted that electric buses must not sacrifice good service and that there were other ways to improve air quality.
“Don’t sacrifice service and passenger numbers for air quality if the difference will not be too much,” Yoga told The Jakarta Post.
He said the most important thing for Transjakarta was to keep its service reliable so the number of passengers would increase, which might translate to fewer people using private vehicles.
Indonesia does not have any regulations regarding electric vehicles (EVs), however the central government is drafting a presidential regulation on EVs to incentivize their use by changing the luxury goods tax calculation for vehicles so that it is based on carbon emissions rather than engine capacity.
