"Our focus is to ensure bus users are as comfortable as (when) they ride a private vehicle to attract more (residents) shifting to public transportation," director of road transport at the ministry, Suharto, said, according to a statement issued on Friday.
The ministry has been assisted by many stakeholders, including donor agencies, in developing public transportation systems in various cities and expanding transportation coverage to other cities, he informed.
He said that the level of public transportation utilization in Indonesia is still at 20 percent, lower than in Singapore and Malaysia.
The growth of private transport has worsened traffic congestion and led to the transport sector contributing up to 26 percent to greenhouse gas emissions, he noted.
To support the shift to public transportation, the ministry is assisting regional authorities through the Teman Bus shuttle bus program conceived under the buy-the-service (BTS) scheme in eleven pilot cities, including Denpasar, Bandung, Medan, Palembang, and Makassar, Suharto added.
Meanwhile, Head of the Medan Municipal Transportation Office Iswar Lubis said that 72 buses have been deployed for the Teman Bus system serving five routes in the city.
The BTS scheme in Medan is operated by PT Medan Bus Transport as Trans Metro Deli, he added.
"At present, the shift of motorcycle users to Trans Metro Deli has reached 52 percent. We are recording 48 thousand passengers daily, dominated by women and children," Lubis informed.
He affirmed that the program's success has encouraged the government to continue improving bus services.
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Moreover, Head of the Road Transport Department of the Jakarta Transportation Office Yayat Sudrajat highlighted a shift from car-orientated to transit-orientated development as a major challenge to improving public transportation in the city.
Sudrajat said that to promote public transportation, the authority has improved public transportation systems and facilities for pedestrians and bicycle users, as well as restricted private vehicles through odd-even rationing.
"The key to our success is a collaboration between the central government, the regional government, and the public. This year, we target the provision of 100 electric buses to ensure sustainable transportation in Jakarta," he added.
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Translator: Adimas Raditya FP, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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