Holiday Fuel Use Barely Rises as Indonesians Shift to Public Transport and EVs

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Indonesia’s gasoline consumption during the 2025–2026 Christmas and New Year holiday period rose only 0.9% from normal levels, signaling a structural shift toward public transport, aviation, and electric vehicles amid the country’s broader energy transition. The muted increase contrasted with strong growth in aviation fuel use and mass transit ridership during the peak travel season.

Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) said the limited rise in gasoline demand during the Dec 15, 2025 to Jan 5, 2026 holiday post reflected changing travel behavior. The trend was most clearly seen in avtur consumption, which jumped 5.5% during the same period.

“So our assessment is that many people used public transportation,” said Erika Retnowati, head of the Energy Ministry’s holiday task force, in Jakarta on Monday, Jan 5, 2026. “We only count private vehicle fuel use, and when we see avtur rising sharply at 5.5%, along with fully booked trains, that shows the shift.”

She said the transition was also reinforced by rising electric vehicle usage, as reflected in a sharp increase in charging transactions at public EV charging stations. “If we look at SPKLU transactions, they increased very significantly, roughly three times higher than last year,” Erika said.

The trend was echoed by PT Pertamina Patra Niaga, which acknowledged that gasoline demand growth was modest despite heavy holiday travel. President director Mars Ega Legowo said the comparison with last year still showed an upward trend, but structural changes were increasingly evident.

“Gasoline growth was indeed only 0.9% versus normal 2025 levels,” Mars Ega said. “But compared with the 2024–2025 holiday period, the increase was 1.9%. The driver is clear: public transportation rose significantly, and we also saw strong growth in avtur.”

He added that the rapid adoption of hybrid vehicles was further suppressing fuel demand. “Hybrid vehicles consume much less fuel than non-hybrids, and hybrid sales have been very strong recently,” he said.

The shift toward mass transit was reinforced by rail data. PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero), or KAI, the country's railway operator, reported serving 27.26 million passengers across its group during the holiday period, up 7.6% from a year earlier. Long-distance and local train services carried more than 4.17 million passengers, while commuter rail and urban rail systems accounted for over 20.6 million trips.

Rail occupancy averaged 90% of available capacity, with long-distance departures rising about 10% from last year. KAI said the increase reflected growing reliance on rail as a backbone of intercity, urban, and airport connectivity during peak travel seasons.

Maritime transport also recorded solid growth. PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Persero), a state owned shiplane operator, said it served 1.53 million sea passengers through H+8 of the holiday period, up 2.5% year on year, while vehicle movements surged 51% as traffic was diverted to alternative ports to ease congestion on the Java–Sumatra corridor.

Despite shifting consumption patterns, fuel and LPG supply remained stable. BPH Migas said national gasoline coverage days stood between 16 and 35 days during the holiday period, while LPG coverage averaged 12.8 days. Gasoline distribution rose 0.9%, gasoil fell 3.4%, kerosene declined 6.2%, and avtur increased 5.5% from normal levels.

“National fuel stock resilience remains safe,” Erika said. “Gasoline rose 0.9%, gasoil fell 3.4%, kerosene declined 6.2%, and avtur increased 5.5% during the holiday post.”

LPG distribution averaged 24,720 metric tons during the period, with peak demand recorded ahead of Christmas. “Average LPG distribution during the 2025 Christmas and 2026 New Year task force period increased 10.6% compared with normal sales,” Erika said.

The holiday data underscore a deeper transition under way in Indonesia’s transport and energy system, where growing reliance on public transport, aviation, hybrid vehicles, and electric mobility is gradually decoupling travel growth from gasoline consumption. The trend supports the government’s longer-term goals to curb fossil fuel dependence while maintaining energy security during peak demand periods.