Ambitious clean air bylaw lacks support provisions<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The New Year's resolution by the Jakarta administration is to
\nmake the city breathable, but that could be too ambitious even
\nwith the issuance of Bylaw No. 2\/2005 on air pollution control,
\nwhich will go into effect in February.<\/p>\n
Except for Gubernatorial Regulation No. 75\/2005 supporting the
\nbylaw's smoking ban, no other regulation has been issued to
\nsupport other aspects of the bylaw, such as the use of natural
\ngas in all public transportation and government vehicles, as well
\nas the control of vehicular emissions.<\/p>\n
"We have completed a draft regulation for the use of natural
\ngas in public transportation, however we lack support from the
\nCity Council," Head of the Jakarta Environment Management Agency
\n(BPLHD) Kosasih Wirahadikusumah said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Looking at past experiences in trying to encourage the use
\nnatural gas, Kosasih cited the implementation of a Gubernatorial
\nInstruction in 1992 effectively requiring taxi companies to use
\nthe alternative fuel in at least 20 percent of the cars in their
\nfleet.<\/p>\n
"It worked well at the time because the price difference
\nbetween natural gas and gasoline was quite high. But as time went
\non, this difference lessened until the price of the two fuels
\nbecame relatively similar," he said, explaining that without the
\nprice edge, natural gas became too ineffective for taxi
\ncompanies.<\/p>\n
At present there are only about 500 government-owned vehicles
\nusing natural gas, Kosasih -- who was a guest speaker at a press
\nconference on Jakarta's air quality organized by the Forum for
\nCleaner Emission Partnership (MEB) on Wednesday -- added.<\/p>\n
To date, only four of the 18 of the original natural gas fuel
\nstations are still operational. These is one on Jl. Sumenep in
\nMenteng, Central Jakarta; another in the Semanggi area of Central
\nJakarta; another in Tebet, South Jakarta; and on Jl. D.I.
\nPanjaitan in Cawang, East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Kosasih said that it was only after the fuel price hikes on
\nOct. 1 that natural gas became feasible again.<\/p>\n
"But after ignoring their gas conversion kits for more than a
\ndecade, reusing them without first servicing the kits can have
\ndisastrous results," he said, citing the explosion of a Kosti
\nTaxi on Dec 12.<\/p>\n
This incident, has in turn heightened the public's concern
\nover the safety of using such fuel in vehicles.<\/p>\n
"Without an intelligible explanation, there will always be
\npublic resistance towards the use of natural gas, particularly
\nthe safety aspects," MEB program manager Firdaus Cahyadi said
\nduring the press conference.<\/p>\n
Also during the press conference, MEB researcher Joko
\nSulistyono highlighted the government's dominance over the
\ncountry's fuel industry, which unfortunately still looks down on
\nnatural gas production for fuel.<\/p>\n
Kosasih, however, was optimistic that with the Jakarta
\nadministration's commitment to using natural gas in buses on the
\nnew busway lines, more demand would follow and with it the
\nindustry. After that, it was a matter of time before all other
\npublic transportation companies followed suit.<\/p>\n
"The new bylaw will possibly be implemented to force public
\ntransportation companies to install natural gas devices for all
\ntheir fleets when they renew their operating licenses," he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, experts say the easiest part to implement on Bylaw
\nNo. 2, is the requirement to regularly inspect and maintain
\nprivate cars and motorcycles so that they adhere to the
\nrecommended emission standards, but that too has its problems.<\/p>\n
Kosasih said that to date there were only 80 certified car
\nshops in the city able to carry out emission tests, while at
\nleast 200 would be needed. And only 239 out of 600 certified
\ntechnicians were currently available.<\/p>\n
"Furthermore, there are no specific emissions standards
\navailable for two-stroke engine motorcycles," he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Firdaus said that the public -- familiar with the
\nbribery that goes on with the road worthiness tests for public
\nvehicles -- only view the new regulation to put private vehicles
\nthrough regular inspections and maintenance as just another
\nmethod of extortion.<\/p>\n
"So unless the government repairs the road worthiness test for
\npublic vehicles, this image will remain in the public's mind and
\nthey will, of course, resist," he said.<\/p>",
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