- ANTARA/Mentari Dwi Gayati
West Java – The Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated two type A terminals in West Java on Saturday. The two terminals are Leuwipanjang Terminal in Bandung City and Banjar Terminal in Banjar City.
"I officially inaugurate the Leuwipanjang Terminal in Bandung City and the Banjar Terminal in Banjar City, West Java Province," said the President during the inauguration at Leuwipanjang Terminal.
The Head of State hopes that the presence of this infrastructure will encourage the public to once again use public transportation.
Presiden Jokowi
- Dok. Biro Pers Sekretariat Presiden
"This Leuwipanjang Terminal in Bandung, built with a budget of IDR70 billion, is impressive. This is to encourage the community to use public transportation, to stop using private vehicles, not using private cars," the President remarked.
The presence of these terminals is also expected to reduce traffic congestion in West Java, especially in Bandung, which could potentially cause economic losses for the people.
"For example, the economic losses caused by traffic jams in the Jabodetabek area (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi) reach almost IDR100 trillion annually," the President stated.
"I highly appreciate this development, and hopefully, we can encourage people to again use public transportation, whether it's buses, trains, or as in Jakarta, there's MRT, LRT, KRL, high-speed trains, and that will significantly reduce the congestion on our roads," the President continued.
Moreover, the presence of these terminals is also expected to enhance the mobility of the people, both intercity and intracity.
"Hopefully, the Leuwipanjang and Banjar Terminals in West Java Province can accelerate the mobility of people from one city to another or within the city," the President expressed.
Earlier, the Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi stated that the revitalization of Leuwipanjang and Banjar Terminals was done to improve services to the public.
"The revitalization of Leuwipanjang Terminal itself covers a total area of 30 thousand square meters. And, as you witnessed, there's the first Samsat (vehicle registration center) in Indonesia, which will serve as an example for terminals throughout Indonesia, and the ticketing is already digital," the Minister stated.
On that occasion, Minister Sumadi also appreciated the initiative of using electric-based public transportation by local governments in West Java, especially in Bandung.
"We appreciate the West Java region and Bandung City for initiating electric buses as urban transportation. This aligns with the President's idea that mass transportation is the beginning of using electric vehicles," the Transportation Minister concluded.
