Publication & Articles

Dec 2017

By: Scott Younger

Jakarta Post

The cost of transportation logistics in Indonesia is among the highest in the world, whether assessed in terms of time or fuel resources used. The problem is well understood by the government, but solutions remain elusive.
 
Attendees at a recent seminar on Digital Solutions for Energy Efficiency, organized by MASKEEL included a wide range of high-level interested parties from both private and public sectors, and strong agreement was expressed that the government approaches to address the many problems associated with fossil fuel usage remaind half-hearted and still sadly unaware of banking requirements when seeking debt  financing.
 
This was the case whether to do with future trends in delivery of electricity with a lack of proper focus on the importance of pushing on with renewable energy development and the need for private sector participation, or in making transportation more efficient, cheaper and environmentally cleaner.
 
There is increasing worldwide interest in reducing the use of fossil fuels for road vehicle propulsion. The most recent advertisement for hybrid vehicles concerned the launching of a new hybrid version of the well-known London black taxicab.
 
This should be a signal to this government to encourage vehicle manufacturers in Indonesia to make an effort to change to hybrid engines and also onto the full electric option. Hybrid and electric cars today have to be imported and buyers have to pay a surcharge.
 
In the meantime, for Jakarta and surrounds alone, the number of fossil fuel powered sedans increases daily, never mind theeven greater number of motorcycles.
 
It has been assessed that traffic jams, where fuel is wasted while cars stand still with engines idling, cost the users within the city, and indirectly the country, some US$5 billion per annum. Imagine what could be done with a further $5 billion available for good use.
 
Naturally, one of the problems faced by megacities like Jakarta, is the unrestricted registration Of new cars and motorcycles. Growth in this is a sign of an expanding economy, but one in which the road capacity has already been oveiwhelmed for a significant number of years.

Nor can  the  solution  of controlled registration, as applied in Singapore with its much smaller population and different economic shape, be introduced here.
 
The political and administrative complexities involved suggest that the time and cost would be better focused on stepping up improvements to public transport and embracing the coming changes  to  the way people  will travel in thefuture.
 
In the short term, it is hoped that better attention to the heii.lth benefits of cleaner air, in tandem with the on going efforts to put in place public transport in the form of rail systems (MRT, LRT) will slowdown road vehicle expansion.
 
Further changes in terms of reduced travel as a result of digitization of the work place and major cities  restructuring themselves into self-contained sub-cities are on the horizon; smartcities as being espoused in Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD).
 
While we necessarily carry on trying to address today's road capacity needs, an eye will have to be kept on how travel will change over the next decade in terms of manner and mode and adapting to cleaner vehicles.
Individual car ownership will also decline in the future, faster than people realize, as the reality of (electric powered) driverless cars takes over, albeit for Jakarta this will tie a slow process. But.why not set a side an area of the greater city for designing and building with thisconcept in mind?
 
The government is already aware of the need for a number of new urban centers, some under the establishment of Transit Oriented Developments (TODs), which should be constructed from the start using efficient and environmentally friendly modes of transport, taking note of the changes referred to above, with clear passages for bicycles and pedestrians,   and  eco-pleasing surrounds.
 
Railway transport is of value in areas of high population and industrial/commercial activity, such as Java and urban areas of Sumatra, or for particular com­ modity traosport needs.
 
The  plans for the  high  speed rails between Jakarta and Surabaya and Bandung need tobe pushed ahead as expeditiously as possible. While the route to Surabaya will offer more challenges and not just because of length and cost, it is time for action after 25 years of discussion and a previous attempt in the1990s under British endeavor to build the route along similar lines to today's thinking, assuming standard gauge track, bearing in mind that the current Im gauge standard across the country limits top speeds to 160 kph.
 
Upgrading link ups to other centers and existing suburban routes, in parallel with current efforts with the MRT and LRT projects are all positive attempts to reduce the dependence on car usage.
 
However, notice has to be taken  for  the  future  where  tracks with new maglev and  hyperloop technologies  are  already  un­ der construction, albeit today's solutions need to be met with known practice.
 
One of the major areas which could make a marked impact on reducing logistics costs relates to the maritime sector, investment in which has been neglected to as far back as the1980s.
 
While there is activity towards upgrading major ports, for example Kuala Tanjung in North Sumatra, much of the drive of 2015 towards updating second tier ports has stalled and the impact that this improvement could have made to port handling, support to the resuscitating fishing industry, and related logistics costs remains unrealized,.
 
Those involved in the sector are disappointed that some two years, where there could have been noticeable steps to show progress on delivering the Maritime Strategy for movement of goods, have been lost.
While major shipping still largely depends on propulsion by heavy oil, in the next generation ships will be designed to include renewable sources of power such 'as solar.
 
The country is at last wakening up to the huge potential of tourism and the related  contribution it can make to the national economy. It is already.a key earner for the nation, but could be many times larger.
 
The President has been right to focus on this area of national development and provide support to those who are taking thelead in new areas beyond the worldwide fame earned by Bali.
 
A big key to success relates to the upgrading of existing and building of new airport connections to handle the potential of tourism, arguably the fastest growing industry across the planet. The Ministry of Transportation has rightly paid more attention in recent times to improving airport facilities across the archipelago and is recognizing that private sector investment and involvement is needed to deal with the fast rate of expansion of the tourist industry.
 
In summary, the country's transportation sector is a mixture of the usual good and the "could do better"  scenario. Future developments, while pushing a head with building using today's technology, must start embracing the fast approaching changes in the application of new technologies.
 
Transport solutions in many areas, especially those for the significant urban expansion that is to take place over the next 30 years, will change quickly starting now and continuing in the years ahead.