Authors: Nani Septianie and Fazli Elahi*
Addressing the environmental crisis requires a commitment to social justice. This means that a country must ensure all parts of society have access to environmentally friendly energy solutions, particularly in areas like transportation. By making sustainable transportation options available and affordable for everyone, a country can help build a more inclusive. Because in order to overcome the problem of climate change, a country is very important to try to encourage reducing the use of transportation due to the high levels of carbon dioxide produced from the use of non-renewable energy. One country that is dependent on the use of private vehicles that can contribute to the increasing level of environmental crisis is Indonesia. Indonesia is a country that still has a very high level of motorbike use, reaching up to 68.3%, while public transportation users are only 18.45%, Which has resulted in congestion and accidents often occurring. And this dependence on private vehicles is caused by the limitations of the community in reaching public transportation services provided by each region in Indonesia. The current condition in Indonesia is that as many as 515 cities/regencies still have limitations in accessing public transportation, where this level of limitation is inversely proportional to the increase in the use of private vehicles which continues to increase by 18-13%. With this condition, it not only results in very high levels of pollution, but also results in various regions in Indonesia experiencing very high levels of congestion.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Implementing Electric Vehicles in Indonesia as an Upper-Middle Income Country
Indonesia is a country that is in the fourth position that is included in the category of countries with the largest population in the world and a country that is ranked 73rd as the poorest country in the world. The indicator in measuring the level of poverty is carried out referring to the gross national income per capita. The existence of this condition shows that the Indonesian people do not yet have adequate ability to be able to access electric vehicles due to various factors, both in terms of expensive prices, limitations in charging batteries, and the transition of society in using conventional vehicles to EVs. Consequently, while the promotion of electric vehicles may present advantages for manufacturing nations, it could perpetuate inequality in developing countries like Indonesia, where social justice remains elusive. This is primarily due to various barriers that limit access to electric vehicles, a situation exacerbated by Indonesia’s classification as an upper-middle-income country.
Compared to leading adopters of electric vehicles, such as China and European nations like Norway, Iceland, and Sweden, these countries’ substantial economic resources enable them to access and manufacture electric vehicles at scale. Which four countries that use electric vehicles are countries that are included in the high income category. Therefore, in overcoming climate change, it is important to be able to realize who benefits more, do not let EV production countries benefit more and cause upper-middle countries to continue to experience inequality due to the inability to access electric vehicles.
Improving Public Transportation in Indonesia in Achieving Equal Access to Energy System
Enhancing public transportation in Indonesia, as a middle-upper income country, represents an effective strategy for achieving equitable access to energy systems. It also serves as a means to mitigate the environmental crises and road congestion exacerbated by private transportation. By facilitating the movement of a larger number of passengers per trip, public transportation significantly reduces energy consumption per capita. Thus, the overall emissions generated per passenger are lower and this becomes a significant figure when the number of passengers is large. As a result, although the EV emission factor may be low, the emissions per passenger are still higher compared to long-distance travel if used alone. Buses or trains that are charged with electricity from renewable energy such as solar or wind power are more environmentally friendly than those charged with electricity generated from fossil fuels. This makes public transportation an important instrument in the hands of cities that want to reduce their carbon footprint and energy consumption.
In addition, public transportation also helps to alleviate traffic congestion, which can be very damaging to the environment and waste energy in large cities. Outperforming gasoline-powered vehicles in terms of pollution, EVs present most if not all of the problems associated with congestion, in addition to the significant infrastructure investment required for charging stations including land, energy, and significant resources for construction and maintenance. Chinese cities such as Shenzhen and Beijing serve as exemplary models in this regard. These cities have initiated the conversion of their entire public transportation systems to electric frameworks powered by renewable resources. Notably, Shenzhen boasts an extensive electrified bus system comprising approximately 16,457 electric buses. Which operate from charging stations that are powered by renewable resources, for example, solar energy and wind energy.
As China’s leading partner, Indonesia holds significant bargaining power to pursue further cooperation with China in developing public transportation. Additionally, Indonesia’s status as the fourth most populous country contributes to severe traffic congestion, which not only increases pollution but also leads to frequent accidents. Reducing dependence on private vehicles is critical for alleviating these challenges, making it essential to prioritize public transportation as a sustainable solution. Indonesia should enhance its cooperation with China, the world’s leading producer of electric vehicles and its foremost trading partner, to establish a well-distributed public transportation system throughout the country. This collaboration would bolster Indonesia’s efforts to address environmental crises by ensuring equitable access to eco-friendly transportation, promoting social justice, and decreasing reliance on private vehicles.
*Fazli Elahi, Civil Engineering Master’s Student at Universitas Islam Indonesia