To support Indonesia in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Provincial Government of Jakarta encourages the acceleration of electrification of motorized vehicles for public and private transportation. Regulations regarding this effort are contained in the Governor's Regulation No. 90 of 2021.

One piece of concrete evidence is the operation of the Transjakarta electric bus. Last March, for the first time PT Transportation Jakarta (Transjakarta) officially operates 30 electric buses. It is hoped that the number of electrified buses will reach 100 fleets by the end of 2022. Similar efforts are made not only by the government, but also by the private sector, PT Grab Indonesia, which operates 8,500 electric vehicles, both cars and motorcycles.

What underlies the innovations of the two agencies to operate electric vehicles? What are the next plans for the development of this "future vehicle"? Last week, Jakarta Smart City had a chance to discuss with Yoga Adiwinarto as Director of Operations & Safety of PT Transportation Jakarta (Transjakarta) and Rivana Mezaya as Director of Strategy and Special Project of PT Grab Technology Indonesia in JSC Talks Vol. 22 with the theme Gimana Bikin Kendaraan Listrik Jadi Mainstream: Perspektif Transjakarta dan Grab (How to Make Electric Vehicles Mainstream: Transjakarta and Grab Perspectives). Lots of interesting ideas were given out throughout the event. Participants can also ask questions with the speakers. Curious enough? Read more here. 

Transjakarta’s View on Electrified Vehicles

The presentation session was started by Yoga from Transjakarta. Introducing Transjakarta to the audience, he stated that PT Transjakarta is a bus management company, not a bus operator. Therefore, Transjakarta's focus as a corporation is to manage the transportation system and integrate bus operators, which until now numbered 18 operators. These bus operators assist the operation of the 3,590 Transjakarta fleet.

Yoga Adiwinarto, Direktur Operasi & Keselamatan PT Transportasi Jakarta

Transjakarta Electric Bus Innovation

Currently, PT Transjakarta itself is still in a transition period to rise post-pandemic. Indeed, not all travel routes have been opened and customers who use Transjakarta services are still 65%-70% of the number before the pandemic. However, Transjakarta is slowly starting to return with various new breakthroughs, one of which is the 30 electric buses which started operating on March 4, 2022. These buses have a battery capacity of 324 kWh and are equipped with 10 chargers with a charging capacity of 200 kWh.

You want to try taking the electric bus? The electric buses currently available take route 1P: Blok M-Terminal Senen and 1N: Blok M-Tanah Abang. If you take an electric bus, you will find an outlet that you generally don't find on a diesel bus. This is very useful, considering that you don't have to be afraid of running out of gadget power while traveling.

Electric Bus Contribution to Emission Reduction

You might be wondering, how influential is the Transjakarta electric bus in reducing emissions? Yoga explained the various benefits of implementing the Transjakarta electric bus. First, electric buses have a noise level of 28% lower than diesel buses, which means they are successful in reducing noise pollution. Second, it is good for the environment. Based on a well-to-wheelanalysis of 1,724 Transjakarta BRT and Non-BRT buses, electric buses can reduce as much as 50.3% of CO2 emissions from what they currently produce. In addition, the electrification of all Transjakarta BRT and Non-BRT fleets can reduce PM2.5 exhaust gas pollution by 190.4 tons, and NOx by 6804.2 tons cumulatively in 2030 in Jakarta. Finally, the operation of electric buses saves diesel fuel consumption per kilometer by 0.46 liters.

Transjakarta Electric Bus Development Projection

The operation of these 30 electric fleets is just the beginning of the smart and environmentally friendly transportation concept. In the future PT Transjakarta seeks to develop new innovations. The nearest plan, in 2022 to 2023, Transjakarta will focus on electrification and charging bus batteries at depots at night for 12-meter low-entry buses (low-floor buses) and 8-meter medium-low-entry buses (medium-sized buses).

Meanwhile, in 2023-2025, Transjakarta's focus will shift to electrification of 12-meter BRT buses per corridor. Battery charging for the BRT is also planned to be built at the terminal at the end of the corridor. In addition to BRT, in this phase, Transjakarta will also focus on building a 5-meter microtrans electric fleet or public transportation with a battery charging system at the depot or location.

Continuing in 2025-2030, Transjakarta plans to replace diesel engines in its fleet with battery-based engines. Currently, the innovation is still in the regulatory stage. Moreover, the engine retrofit can only be carried out in the next few years, considering that currently the buses are still in excellent condition. With this ongoing transition from diesel to electricity, we can save up to 70% of the cost of a new bus.

Regarding the infrastructure of electrification, Yoga added, “We also plan to build 12 BRT charging stations. So not only at depots, BRT buses can also charge at these various locations.”

Grab Indonesia Feels Upbeat on Its Electric Fleets

It could be said that Grab Indonesia was among the first pioneers of vehicle electrification in the private sector. Of course this comes with a reason. Mezaya started his explanation by explaining the identity of the corporation first. “We really want to implement our principle of creating impact for society and the environment.” In fact, generating social and environmental impacts is the goal of Grab Indonesia, as summarized in the Environment, Social, and Government 2021 report. The three ESG goals that Grab wants to achieve are encouraging digital inclusion for special groups, supporting women to grow in the environment. work, and managing impacts on the environment.

This latter brings Grab on a mission to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. To be able to carry out this mission, Grab is running the #LangkahHijau campaign consists of reducing emissions, planting trees, and recycling activities. The first point of the campaign, reducing emissions, is the root of the idea to the transition of the Grab fleet to electric vehicles.

"We implemented electrification for the first time in 2019 for a fleet of cars that were dedicated to operating at Soekarno Hatta Airport. Gradually, Grab's electric vehicles are starting to grow, until now we have 8,500 electric vehicles in the form of cars and motorbikes that are already operating and serving the customers, "said Mezaya.

Rivana Mezaya,Director of Strategy and Special Project PT Grab Teknologi Indonesia

The successful implementation of Grab Indonesia's electric vehicle is a collaboration and the result of support from various policy stakeholders. Starting from the government sector such as the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as well as the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, and others, private sector such as PLN, Pertamina, to manufacturers such as Hyundai, Kymoo, Gesits, Swaps, Viar who develop the products.

Impact of Grab's Electric Vehicle Transition

So, how significant is the impact of Grab's innovation on the environment? "Based on our calculations, from 2019 to 2021, around >5,000 tons of CO2 emissions have been reduced, equivalent to a reduction of >2 million liters of fuel," said Mezaya. Apparently, the transition of the fleet to electric vehicles is not only good for the environment, but also for Grab's driver-partners. For information, all of Grab's electric vehicles currently operating are owned by the company, so drivers don't need to have their own vehicles to be able to join as partners. They only need to rent an electric vehicle on a daily basis and the machine service is carried out regularly at 30 Grab Indonesia service centers and the costs are fully borne by the company. Because it is based on electricity, driver-partners also don't need to pay a penny for fuel like if driving a diesel vehicle.

However, as the implementation of electric vehicles continues, Grab Indonesia faces some challenges. “Our current concern is related to the battery swap station. It's less likely that it's also filling the fleet battery. For example, it takes 4 hours to fully charge a battery. During that time, the fleet could not serve customers. Therefore, we considered the battery swapping system to be more efficient. However, the next challenge is regarding the vehicle battery brands, which now we still have more than one,” said Mezaya. Now, the Grab Indonesia team is still compiling the technicalities related to this.

Q&A Session

Like the previous volume of JSC Talks, after the presentation, the audience can directly ask the speakers, both Yoga and Mezaya. Many of the arising questions are related to the technical aspects of electrification itself, such as the following.

Transjakarta
 

Question: “Even though the vehicle is already electrified, electricity is still generated by the Coal Power Plant. How does Transjakarta respond to this?”

Answer: “Of course we have taken that into account. Based on our research, the emissions generated for electrical energy, starting from coal mining, entering the power plant, to being distributed to Transjakarta are still 50% less than the emissions generated for conventional buses. The Jakarta Provincial Government dares to take this action because we see the potential and high demand. With the transition to electric vehicles, we can help turn Jakarta's skies blue again, which is now becoming foggy due to pollution."

Question: Charging the battery from empty to full battery can take 5-6 hours. Fast charging system may take 1-2 hours. This will affect the daily ridership of Transjakarta. How to deal with it?”

Answer: “As we know peak hour in Jakarta is from 6-9 am, then 4 pm to 8 pm. The new buses won’t be charged at these hours so it doesn't interfere with customer mobility."

Question: “How is the resistance of the electric bus unit against flooding?”

Answer: “Basically, Transjakarta won’t operate during a flood. However, if there is a puddle, the electric bus will not be in worse condition than the diesel bus. Prior to operating, the electric buses are also confirmed to have passed European standards.”

Question: “What are the challenges of Transjakarta while collaborating with stakeholders to implement electric vehicles in Jakarta?”

Answer: “Electric buses cost twice as much than regular buses, with big buses being the cheapest. The 8-metre feeder non-BRT electric bus can be 10 times the price of a non-electric bus. The biggest challenge for Transjakarta is ensuring that everything is accessible. Currently, together with the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government, we are looking for alternatives so that financing becomes lighter and accessible to our partners.”

Grab Indonesia

Question: “Besides economic readiness, what are other factors to make the transition to vehicle electrification faster?”

Answer: “There are several factors such as economic (investment), infrastructure readiness, and technicality. For example on the technical side, related to battery life. However, there is a factor that is not least important, customer readiness. Currently, the price of an electric grab car is more expensive than a regular grab car. However, an  electric grab bike costs the same as a regular grab bike. It is important for us to ensure that consumers are ready and excited to accept this new culture of electric vehicles.”

At the end of the event, both Yoga and Mezaya conveyed their invitation to the audience and residents of Jakarta to participate in the success of the transition to electric vehicles. “We cannot do this alone. Transition to electric vehicles requires collaboration from the public, private and consumer sectors. We might not fully implement it now, but someday, we will be in a condition when the electric vehicle ecosystem is comfortable and the impact on the earth and a better life for future generations can be felt for ourselves,” Mezaya said. Closing the question-and-answer session, Yoga added, “The Jakarta Provincial Government and Transjakarta cannot work alone. As a citizen of Jakarta, you can also help reduce emissions and make our skies blue again. It's as simple as using an electric bus and continuing to support this program.”

That’s the recap of JSC Talk Vol. 22 with the theme How to Make Electric Vehicles Mainstream: Transjakarta and Grab Perspectives. Hopefully the presentation from Transjakarta and Grab Indonesia can give you new insights. If you want to watch the full recording of the webinar, visit the Jakarta Smart City YouTube channel. Let’s use the electric bus and turn Jakarta's sky blue again!