Switching over: Transjakarta to electrify bus fleet, with support from UNEP

Puffing out pollutants and releasing greenhouse gases in the middle of a Jakarta traffic jam – this, for now, is the fate of most public buses in Jakarta. Provincial authorities are looking to change that – and with the support of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and its partners, replace the 10,000-strong fleet of the city’s bus company, Transjakarta, with electric buses by 2030.

So far, 100 new buses have been purchased under a pilot scheme, of which just over 50 are already on the streets of the capital, with the others awaiting their licenses. There is now a commitment, underpinned by a decree from the governor of Jakarta Province, to replace the rest. The plan was developed by Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), a non-governmental organization engaged by UNEP. 

UNEP experts supported the tendering process as well as the design of the proof of concept, while the provincial Division of Transport and public transport company Transjakarta, are in charge of implementing the conversion. 

“We are looking to transition to a greener system and also expand services to attract more customers away from private vehicles,” said Afrinda of Jakarta Province’s Transport Division. That seems like a daunting task: of the 45 million daily passenger trips in Jakarta, only around 4% are on public transport – a bit more than half of them using Transjakarta buses. “In order for us to really make a difference towards cleaner air, we need to get people out of their cars and into trains and electric buses,” she added.

Earlier this year, Jakarta – choked in haze – grabbed international headlines as the most polluted city in the world over several weeks. The national government subsequently set up an emergency task force to ease air pollution. Toxic fumes from road traffic, along with emissions from coal-fired power plants that surround the city, are the main sources of air pollution, including particulate matter.

“Vehicle exhaust lingering in high concentration in a city with little wind is extremely toxic,” said UNEP air pollution expert Bert Fabian, adding that even in a country like Indonesia, where coal accounts for over 60% of electricity supply, switching to electric vehicles makes environmental sense when considering the impacts of air pollution on health. “The transition towards renewables is a reality, so electricity is getting greener all the time. And until that happens, lowering the amount of exhaust fumes in cities already brings instant benefits.”

This is in line with the city’s efforts to help clean Jakarta’s famously polluted air through the promotion of increased use of public transport and walking/cycling.

The battery challenge

Replacing an entire bus fleet is a major logistical challenge. 

Jakarta has three types of buses. Routes on secondary streets are the ones that are the easiest to electrify: the 2,600 such buses in service run around 200 kilometers a day and can be recharged at the bus depot overnight. By contrast, the 1,200 buses that serve in the city’s fast bus lane corridors rack up 250 kilometers a day – more than what a fully charged battery can handle. Therefore, these buses will need to be charged in the middle of the day as well. This necessitates the establishment of battery charging facilities at several locations along bus routes, increasing initial and operational costs. Over 6,000 minibuses, which run on the small streets of the city’s neighborhoods, pose an even bigger challenge: these buses spend the night on the streets and are taken to the depot only for servicing. Electrifying these lines will require a complex network of charging stations.

All this has been mapped out by Transjakarta and ITDP, in a 2021-2022 project funded by UNEP. “We all know the solutions – as soon as we can get the mandate and the money, we can start,” says Mr. Bayu Purbo, General Manager for Fleet and Drivers at Transjakarta. That mandate is expected to arrive in the form of an implementation decree by the provincial transport department, formally establishing a timetable and authorizing Transjakarta to move beyond the pilot phase.

This is expected to happen in coming months, says Ms Afrinda, so that procurement of the buses can begin as early as in 2024 – starting with the fleet running on secondary streets, while the charging infrastructure is established for corridor buses and minibuses. According to the governor’s decree, half of buses need to be electric by 2027, and the complete fleet by 2030. 

Extended producer responsibility to manage batteries within a closed-loop circular economy is part of the effort, she added.

Longstanding cooperation

Technical support on electrification is not the first time UNEP has lent its expertise to help improve the quality of Jakarta’s air. In 2001-2002, it helped the government draft and implement legislation to remove lead from gasoline and has since supported various efforts to promote clean and sustainable transport. The “Bus Rapid Transit and Pedestrian Improvements in Jakarta” project, which ran from 2006-2012, helped improve and expand Transjakarta routes and ridership.

“UNEP is committed to supporting Indonesia with technical expertise and best practices from other countries,” said Nico Marhehe, UNEP country programme manager. “Indonesia, as the world’s fourth most populous country, has a key role to play in the global green transition.”