Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has urged the private sector and Indonesian universities to develop autonomous vehicles in Indonesia by taking the opportunities and challenges of such an undertaking into account.

He made the statement during a webinar on “Glancing at the Prospects of Autonomous Vehicles in Indonesia: Opportunities and Challenges,” accessed from here on Saturday.

“(There are) A number of challenges (to developing self-driving vehicles that) include road readiness, Internet networks, environmental conditions, regulations related to technical matters of roadworthiness, and the implementation of vehicle testing. We are currently drafting and finalizing the regulations,” Sumadi informed.

He said that driverless or autonomous vehicles are intelligent transport systems (ITS) that will be the transportation of the future.

He listed some advantages of using such vehicles, based on research conducted by the McKinsey Global Institute and TU Delf on electric and automated transport in 2019, which consist of ensuring punctuality, reducing carbon emissions, minimizing accident rates due to human error by 40 percent, and lowering traffic congestion.

At the same webinar, the director of private property company PT Jababeka Tbk, Sutedja Sidarta Darmono, expressed his support for developing autonomous vehicles in Indonesia.

According to him, infrastructure development that supports the growth of the autonomous vehicle ecosystem is necessary, such as strengthening the Internet network.

“It will require collaboration from all relevant stakeholders, both academicians and the private sector, to create a conducive climate so that this autonomous vehicle can be realized,” Sumadi added.

In line with the push for autonomous vehicles, the government has been preparing to build the new capital city in East Kalimantan under the green and smart city concept by prioritizing the use of new and renewable energy, including the use of electric and autonomous vehicles.

Source: Antara News