Promoting Waste-to-Energy Program for BRT Project based on Participatory Research Approach : A Case of Used Cooking Oil in Bogor City, Indonesia <Research Note>

The rapid increase in population has directly resulted into increased energy demand, especially in transportation sector. To survive with the growth of energy consumption, transit has become key alternative to alleviate mobility problem in the country. However, to cope with the increasing fuel price and limited resources in this coming near future, the important consideration for transit agencies is to guide on how to successfully implement BRT in the changing political, institutional, and operational setting. The alternative of energy sources from biomass productions has received much attention, which could be obtained from the agriculture crop or from domestic waste materials. To enhance fuel diversification, in the same time also to eliminate the environmental pollution through efficient Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), this paper discusses the possibilities of utilizing used- cooking oil for BRT in Bogor as a case study. With an objective of understanding the underlying factors governing the utilization of used-cooking oil as biodiesel, the policy interventions required for better dissemination of renewable energy are also discussed. Thus, to increase the availability, use of alternative energy and maintain the amount of raw material to produce sufficient fuel as an alternative energy, the incentive programs and campaigns are the must. Participatory Approach (PA) was adopted to encourage all stakeholders to participate in the process of bio-diesel material collection. Finally, the use of usedcooking oil for BRT could be a key solution for current problem faced by the study area i.e., traffic congestion that demands efficient BRT, and meeting demand of the waste used-cooking oil for its proper utilization in BRT as a biodiesel fuel. Thus, this proposed program will help to tackle these twin objectives of smoothing traffic in the city and reduce emission from the city transportation system.