Institut Teknologi Bandung

This event invited four experts in the regional and city planning fields as the main speakers, Dr. I Gusti Ayu Andani, S.T., M.T., a lecturer from Regional and City Planning ITB, Dr. Ir. Budi Hidayat, M.Eng.Sc., the Principal Planner at the Directorate of Transportation BAPPENAS RI, Triono Junoasmono, Ph.D., the Secretary of the Toll Road Regulatory Agency of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, and also Faela Sufa, the Southeast Asia Director of ITDP Indonesia.

The first session was presented by Dr. Budi Hidayat. He talked about how the Covid-19 pandemic can act as the driving force for the development of future transportation. Before this, the development of future transportation in Indonesia mainly sought to address issues such as the increasing rate of urbanization, traffic congestion in large cities, and the low availability of public transportation. Recently, the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic has left a strong impact that shifted the direction of transportation development in Indonesia.

"Mobility limitation that was imposed by the government to limit the spread of Covid-19 heavily impacted the transportation sector in Indonesia," Budi emphasized. During the pandemic, the capacity of public transportations such as MRT and Transjakarta were heavily reduced, reaching only 50% of their normal capacity.

The second session was presented by Faela Sufa, the Southeast Asia Director of ITDP Indonesia. She delivered a topic on the challenges and potentials of sustainable transportation during the pandemic. "There are some challenges that we first need to face in realizing sustainable transportation, especially in large cities in Indonesia. Start from the limitation of transport capacity and operational hours to the sudden implementation of the rerouting policy. Those issues resulted in increased waiting time and queues, which of course creates overcrowding at the station," explained Faela.

As a result, there are still a lot of people who prefer private transportation. Therefore, we need an alternative mode of transportation that can provide inclusivity. “Urban sustainable transportation needs to be complete, which means that it can facilitate all levels of society,” said Faela.

Three principles need to be implemented to solve these issues. Start from reducing non-urgent travels, shifting to sustainable transportation by prioritizing public transit and non-motorized vehicles, and increasing the efficiency of technology and energy consumption of those modes of transportation. "There are a lot of things that can be improved from urban transportation, such as prioritizing public transit for essential workers and improving pedestrian and cyclist facilities," she explained.

The third session was presented by Triono Junoasmono. He explained the government strategy to regulate the pandemic impact on the toll-road sector. "The accumulation of toll-road traffic in 2020 right after the Covid-19 pandemic entered Indonesia experienced a 30% to 40?cline compared to 2019," explained Triono. Moreover, the pandemic also forces the government to issue some policies that reduce and limit the social mobility of its citizens.

Lastly, during the fourth session, Dr. I Gusti Ayu Andani, S.T., M.T. delivered a presentation on The Era of Post-Pandemic Cities. She opened her presentation by explaining the global sustainability concept.

"Three aspects that influence and intersect with global sustainability are economy, social, and ecology," explained Dr. Andani. Sustainable transportation is the capacity to provide low emission and environmentally friendly mobilization, while also improving the human experience and societal impact of mobilization.

One of the ways to achieve sustainable transportation is by managing the transport demand, such as by imposing emission taxes, parking space regulations, and traffic bans. Those solutions will directly reduce the overburden of the transportation system.

Reporter: Yoel Enrico Meiliano (Food Engineering, 2020)

Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)