Jakarta-owned bus operator Transjakarta has an ambitious plan to expand its electric bus (e-bus) fleet to 10,000 units over the decade as the city tries to push for cleaner air.

Illustrative image (Photo: Internet)

Head of the Transjakarta facilities’ planning and standardisation office Candra Rakhmat said the company plans to kick off the expansion by adding 100 new electric buses in 2021, so that electric vehicles will comprise 3 percent of the total fleet.

The Jakarta Governor’s target is that, by 2025, at least 50 percent of all Transjakarta buses are electric and 100 percent by 2030.

The company’s presentation material shows more specifically that e-buses will contribute 83 percent of its fleet by 2030, or around 10,000 units. The remainder consists of the classic orange-coloured diesel buses and blue-coloured compressed natural gas (CNG) buses.

The expansion of Transjakarta’s e-bus fleet is aimed at implementing the international C40 Green and Healthy Streets Declaration that Jakarta, along with 33 other cities, signed in September 2019.

The aim is to reduce Jakarta’s air pollution, which causes 5.5 million cases of illness and costs RP 6.8 trillion (482.2 million USD) in health costs each year, according to Governor Anies Baswedan.

Source: VNA