Transjakarta Electric Buses City Hall - Blok M Go on Trial Period

City owned bus operator Transjakarta is conducting a trial of an electric bus with route City Hall - Blok M that will run up to three months ahead.

These buses have a long battery life with an estimated distance of 250 km

PT Transjakarta's Cooperative and Public Relations Secretary Division Head Nadia Diposanjoyo said the bus has had stolen attention since last year and received high enthusiasm from the public.

"During pre-trial period, we only operate the bus to serve people in tourist sites and have managed to serve 13,000 passengers," she expressed.

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For EVI service, the bus was initially operating two units of BYD in order to test the suitability of the electric fleet in Transjakarta services. PT Bakrie Autoparts as BYD agent in Indonesia brought two single-low entry buses type K9 and medium bus type C6 in this trial.

"These buses have a long battery life with an estimated distance of 250 km before the battery has to be recharged, with a duration of charging less than 4 hours every day," she explained.

As for customer capacity, her party still referred to the COVID-19 health protocol, whereby the single-low entry bus has 25 seats capacity, including standing. While for the medium bus has 11 seats capacity but unavailable for standing passengers.

She hoped that the bus had many advantages ranging from no pollution caused, cheap maintenance, long battery life and green city concept that is in line with the ideals of the city administration towards 4.0

The bus itself will operate today at 10 AM to 8 PM with 45-minute headway and stop in Non-BRT bus stops along route Blok M until City Hall.

"To enjoy it, every customer won't be charged yet is still required to tap in and out on the Tap On Bus (TOB) tool inside the bus," she told.

Nevertheless, her party continues to be consistent in implementing all forms of health protocols to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Transjakarta operations.

"We ensure that each bus fleet unit is ready to operate, starting from checking to washing with disinfecting liquid on the bus and its interior. We also provide hand sanitizer for the convenience of our customer," she closed.