Integration of public transport systems in Indonesian cities: Turning challenges into opportunities

Abstraksi

Improving service quality of urban public transport systems has been long planned by central government of Indonesia with limited successful implementation. Indonesia's commitment to implement global agendas of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and New Urban Agenda 2030 have been regulated in the Presidential Regulation Number 59/2017 regarding the implementation of SDGs, with a specific target for urban transport to increase the share of public transport to 32 percent by 2019, from the baseline state of 23 percent in 2014. This target required strategic planning by integrating different modes and systems to improve service quality of public transport and overall urban mobility. Goals number 11 of SDGs concerns with promoting sustainable cities that heavily depends on public transport integration. The main challenge for integration is to consolidate thousands of individual operators who dominate the service delivery and form a bus company with better technical, financial, and management capacities. City government has limited technical and financial capacity to reform the urban public transport systems. This research aims to examine the existing government policies and regulations to find a means for better integration both physical and non-physical elements of public transport systems. Using content analysis and stakeholder analysis, this research found that public transport integration influences by the role of local public transport operators and local government in promoting public transport. Turning challenges into opportunities can bring more financial, social, and economic benefits for operators, in addition to reduce the regional disparities within highly urbanized cities in Indonesia and developing countries.