In a press conference held on September 16, 2015, BYD Company Ltd., the world’s biggest battery electric bus maker; TransJakarta, Southeast Asia’s first BRT System created in partnership with PT. Steady Safe, Tbk, one of the biggest public transit operators in Jakarta, officially announced the introduction of BYD’s pure electric buses in Jakarta’s BRT System.
At the conference, the governor of Jakarta, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama announced that the BYD fully electric buses will soon start operating the BRT. This is the first time battery electric buses are used in the Indonesian BRT system, signaling not only Indonesia’s concern with air quality and the environment, but also BYD’s further expansion of its Electrified Public Transportation platform in the Asia Pacific region, where the company has electric buses, electric taxis – or both – running in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.
Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama highlighted that additionally to BYD’s electric buses cutting-edge technology, the vehicles are environmentally-friendly, and extremely cost-saving due to enhanced fuel efficiency. An important additional benefit of these vehicles is a significant reduction in cost of ownership, since maintenance requirements are far lower than those for conventional diesel buses, consisting in a real boon to bus fleet operators. Governor also expressed hopes to replace internal combustion buses and taxis for electrified vehicles, meaning and outstanding EV market potential in Indonesia.
PT. Steady Safe Tbk CEO, Mr. Jopie Widjaja, stated that “We are delighted to start the operation of the first e-buses in Indonesia. BYD’s battery electric buses featured excellent performance during the trial run. Their driving range is much longer than we had anticipated and the vehicles are so silent. I’m quite sure Jakarta BRT users will be impressed.”
Ms. Mao Junxiu, General Manager of BYD Singapore Branch said: “Backed by our unparalleled quality and countless successful operational experiences worldwide, which granted us technological and market maturity, BYD’s electrified transportation solutions are successfully running in over 150 major urban centers in 36 countries. This time, we are deeply honored to add Indonesia toour success in providing clean public transportation worldwide. I’m confident allcitizens of Jakarta will love it.”
