On 4 September 2019, the Directorate General of Land Transport of the Ministry of Transportation hosted the 2nd Steering Committee meeting of the SUTRI NAMA – INDOBUS project. It achieved the formalization of the project implementation team, the plan of operation, and the approval of the last pilot city. The meeting saw nearly 50 representatives from the pilot cities, the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO), the Ministry of Finance, BAPPENAS, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, as well as the Ministry of Transportation. The Director of Road Transportation chaired the meeting on behalf of the Director General of Land Transport and proudly shared the recently formalized structure of the steering committee, as per MoT Decree No. KP.3028 / KP.901 / DRJD, 7 August 2019.
Following a thorough assessment of city level capacities including fiscal capacity, population as an indicator of demand for public transportation services, cooperation activity, and budget allocation to the transport sector by the local government, a fifth pilot city has been identified. Makassar joined the group formed by Semarang, Batam, Pekanbaru and Bandung. Existing public and private transport structure and particularly political commitment to the objectives of SUTRI NAMA and INDOBUS were reaffirmed, ultimately also through the participation at the event.
Following the 2nd Steering Committee Meeting, on 8 October 2019 the Ministry of Transportation, the provincial governments, and the city governments of all five pilot cities held a signing ceremony to close a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the implementation of SUTRI NAMA and INDOBUS project activities in the pilot cities. It was held in Jakarta, witnessed by representatives from the INDOBUS donor and steering committee. With the MoU, the cooperation on the implementation and construction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) with segregated lanes in the five pilot cities has been formalized alongside other transformative steps towards a more environmental and social sustainable urban transport sector. Due to its significance and actuality of contents, the event received wide coverage from local and national media. It is a milestone that marks international, national, and subnational commitment towards the common goal of a more sustainable urban transportation in Indonesia, a key sector of sustainable development.
Speaking on behalf of the pilot cities, the Governor of West Java, Mr Ridwan Kamil, underlined the importance of a good and reliable sustainable urban mass transport system in the light of a rapid growth in the use of motorized vehicles in Indonesia and resulting traffic congestion. He expressed his conviction of the inherent flexibility in BRT systems, also is the more suitable and feasible solution to solve transport problems in Indonesian cities in comparison with rail-based mass transit modes. He also emphasized the need for the central, provincial, and city government to work together in delivering a better public transport service to the masses.
The Director General of Land Transport, Mr Budi Setiyadi, in his closing remarks highlighted the importance of the project to improve the urban transport landscape in Indonesia and expressed his appreciation to the German, UK, and Swiss governments for their tremendous support through the SUTRI NAMA and INDOBUS project. He said that the project could hopefully become a model case to be replicated as best practice of sustainable urban transport development in other Indonesian cities in the future.
Contact:
Zulazmi: zulazmi.zulazmi@giz.de
Interim Programme Director
Sustainable Urban Transport Programme Indonesia (SUTRI NAMA) and the project component Indonesian Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Development Project (INDOBUS)
Indonesia
*SUTRI NAMA is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in cooperation with the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) of the United Kingdom.
**INDOBUS is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in cooperation with the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation. The project is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (SECO).
