Just Transport Transition in Indonesia: Beyond Electrification and Toward Mobility Justice

The current national framework for a cleaner transport sector relies on a narrow technological substitution paradigm – one that focuses on electric vehicle subsidies and tailpipe emissions while ignoring systemic mobility flaws. Behind this technocratic focus lie critical blind spots: high first-and-last-mile costs pushed onto precarious gig workers, severe fiscal gaps that leave large and medium cities with degraded or non-existent public transit, and a dirty supply chain where captive coal powered nickel extraction burdens local communities for products largely unlinked to green mobility. Meanwhile, ambitious electrification targets fail because they attempt to clean systems that do not exist. Transitioning requires a comprehensive framework that moves beyond technology toward structural change in city and transportation planning, traffic management, and an inclusive framework that puts residents and users at the center.

This executive summary presents a study conducted through a collaboration between ITDP Indonesia and Rujak Center for Urban Studies. The study calls for a broader transport transition that goes beyond technology toward structural changes in city and transportation planning, traffic management, and public transport. It advocates for an inclusive, people-centered approach that places residents and transport users at the heart of the transition, ensuring that cleaner mobility also delivers more accessible, equitable, and sustainable cities.