Skip to main content

Commuters in Indonesia can exchange used plastic bottles for free bus trips

The city of Surabaya, Indonesia, is giving free bus rides to commuters who provide used plastic bottles as part of a strategy encourage recycling. This initiative is expected to serve the city’s ambition to eliminate plastic waste by 2020. Citizens can travel on red city buses by dropping off plastic bottles at terminals or can use the bottles to pay for their fares. Reuters says a two-hour bus ticket costs ten plastic cups or up to five plastic bottles, depending on their size. Labels and bo
October 31, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The city of Surabaya, Indonesia, is giving free bus rides to commuters who provide used plastic bottles as part of a strategy encourage recycling.

This initiative is expected to serve the city’s ambition to eliminate plastic waste by 2020.

Citizens can travel on red city buses by dropping off plastic bottles at terminals or can use the bottles to pay for their fares.

%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external Reuters false https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-environment-plastics-bus/plastic-to-ride-indonesians-swap-bottles-for-bus-tickets-idUSKCN1MX1OD false false%> says a two-hour bus ticket costs ten plastic cups or up to five plastic bottles, depending on their size.

Labels and bottle caps from the collected bottles are auctioned off to recycling companies. The money earned goes towards running bus operations and funding green spaces in the city in Java, Indonesia’s main island.

Irvan Wahyu Drajad, head of Surabaya’s transportation department, says Indonesia is one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste in the world.
 
“Through this initiative, we hope to raise public awareness on the environment, especially issues that relate to plastic trash,” Wahyu Drajad adds.

Related Content

  • German ITS and telematics associations talk merger at Congress
    October 24, 2012
    Board delegations from ITS Germany and ITS Network Germany are at World Congress this week discussing a merger of the two associations. ITS Germany represents singular members of transport telematics companies, while the ITS Network acts as the umbrella organisation of regional and thematic associations. As a visible sign of intentions, ITS Germany and ITS Network share a stand at World Congress in Vienna this week. Both parties have agreed that current developments in European transport, particularly the E
  • ID Tech and IIT Ropar explore IoT and RFID applications for smart cities in India
    February 1, 2019
    Developing smarter cities in India is the goal of a tie-up between smart card company ID Tech and the Institute of Technology (ITT) Ropar, an academic institution in the northern India state of Punjab. ITT Ropar, which specialises in engineering, science and technology, will join ID Tech in looking at how Internet of Things (IoT) and radio frequency identification (RFID) can help. ID Tech director Saurav Khemani says: “We aim to address social challenges posed by rapid urbanisation and economic develo
  • Vitronic and Swarco agree Netherlands deal
    March 20, 2018
    Vitronic has announced a partnership with Swarco Nederland, here at Intertraffic, through which Swarco will be responsible for sales and service for Vitronic’s Poliscan products in the Netherlands. With the Poliscan family of products, machine vision specialist Vitronic offers national agencies and private service providers systems for speed enforcement, red light enforcement and licence plate reading. "We are pleased to have found a long-standing and reliable partner with Swarco Nederland and look
  • ITS International 2013 Readership Survey
    March 13, 2013
    The ITS International 2013 Readership Survey is now out! You may have received an invitation earlier in the week to complete the 2013 Readership Survey. The Readership Survey was sent exclusively to our registered subscribers asking them to comment on all aspects of ITS International; print, eNewsletter and website. This is a great opportunity for you to give input directly to the editorial team and help shape the future of the magazine.