The bus system, known as the O-Bahn, was created in Essen, Germany, and variations of it are currently being used around the world, most notably Adelaide, Australia.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi recently raised the idea of adopting the O-Bahn busway system as an alternative form of mass transportation in urban areas.

“The ministry has come up with the O-Bahn bus system in response to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s request to overcome congestion problems in big cities,” he said on Sunday.

Different from the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which uses roads, and the light-rail transit system, which uses rails, the O-Bahn system uses buses equipped with small guide wheels on the front as they have to run on rail tracks.

The ministry’s railway transportation director general, Zulfikri, said the special rails allowed O-Bahn buses to run much faster than regular buses on public roads.

“Transjakarta buses, for example, run at a speed of only about 35 kilometers per hour. O-Bahn buses will be able to go 60 to 80 kilometers per hour on their special rails,” he said.

Zulfikri said the budget for the O-Bahn would be greater than that of the Transjakarta bus system.

“The development of the O-Bahn system will cost 20 percent more than Transjakarta,” he said.

The ministry’s land transportation director general, Budi Setiyadi, said the O-Bahn system might be developed in major cities including Surabaya in East Java, Bandung in West Java, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Medan in North Sumatra, Palembang in South Sumatra, Surakarta in Central Java, Denpasar in Bali and Yogyakarta.

“With the development of more options of public transportation, we hope that more people will be willing to travel via public transportation,” he said.

He acknowledged that the government still needed time to make a clear plan regarding the implementation of the O-Bahn busway system.

“We will conduct further studies on the O-Bahn system and formulate clear plans, including those on the time to realize it and the allocation of budgets by the central and local governments,” he added.

The Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) criticized the government’s plan to reduce traffic congestion by introducing the O-Bahn in big cities, arguing there was a lack of funds and regulation to support the system, which required dedicated tracks and special locking wheels for the buses.

MTI deputy chairperson Djoko Setijowarno told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the plan would be difficult to implement because local administrations would have to partly finance the costs for the development of new infrastructure.

“Local administrations will have to cover the balance for the development of rails and tunnels, even though their budgets are very limited,” he said.

He said the government would also face regulatory problems since there was no legal precedent for such a project.

“The regulations for implementing the concept do not yet exist. The lack of regulations can probably create new problems later on,” he said.

Djoko said the Transportation Ministry needed to reflect on past projects in developing the O-Bahn and suggested that it cooperate with local administrations and regional legislative councils.

“The ministry needs to hold discussions with regional administrations and councils about regulations and budgeting as well as their shared commitment of limiting the operation of private vehicles, building shelters and disseminating plans on traffic regulations to the public,” he said. (syk)

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