Parliament: Improve Public Transportation, Can't Rely on WFH Forever

Deputy Chairman of Commission V of the House of Representatives, Syaiful Huda, is pushing the government to improve the national public transportation system as a measure to anticipate the continued impact of the surge in global oil prices. According to the National Awakening Party (PKB) politician, the government cannot continuously implement work-from-home policies as a solution to save energy and fuel oil. Huda also proposes that the government improve the management of public transportation so that it is attractive to the public. “The permanent solution is to shift people’s mobility from private vehicles to adequate public transportation,” he said in a written statement on Monday, 6 April 2026. Huda views the current energy crisis due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as a momentum for Indonesia to invest in improving the quality of public transportation. For him, Indonesia’s dependence on the use of private fossil fuel vehicles makes national resilience vulnerable to global oil price volatility. Therefore, he also proposes that the central and regional governments synergise in using the buy-the-service intervention scheme by purchasing public transport services. Huda highlighted that currently, well-functioning and integrated mass transportation is only available in Jakarta, whereas other regions also need adequate public vehicles. The improvement of mass transportation must be seen as a strategy for defending energy sovereignty, not just an urban issue. “There must be a clear roadmap so that public transportation in Indonesia truly becomes the backbone of comfortable, affordable transportation that reaches all areas,” he stated. Huda also asked the government to boldly redirect part of the fuel subsidy for private vehicles to support subsidies for public transport operations so that mass transportation fares are more affordable. If public transportation is affordable and of quality, he is confident that the public will switch on their own amid the high cost of fuel. This subsidy redirection must also be balanced with government policies to limit the use of private vehicles. However, he emphasised that such restrictions can only be implemented after the government provides a decent and comfortable public transportation fleet.