'Bemo' replacement vans to use liquid gas

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration is to power new minivans with liquid gas in an effort to reduce the city's pollution.

The deputy governor for economic and development affairs, Tb. M. Rais, said yesterday that some of the 60 minivans already licensed to operate on 20 routes instead of the three-wheeled bemo will run on liquid gas.

"Now the administration should contact the state-owned oil company Pertamina to see whether it can provide mobile liquid gas pumps because not all bemo routes are served with gas stations," Rais said.

He added that the problem will not be complicated if there are gas pumps on the routes. "We could just add a liquid gas pump to the stations," he said.

Rais said this is the first step taken by the city administration to encourage all public transportation vehicles to use liquid gas.

He said that eventually all public transportation vehicles in Jakarta should use the fuel because air pollution in the city is mainly caused by the transportation sector.

"We plan to require new buses, especially public ones, to use liquid gas," he said.

According to data issued by the city environment and study office, 67.1 percent of air pollution in Jakarta is caused by the transportation sector, 17.9 percent by industry, 11.12 percent by residential buildings and 3.88 percent by garbage incineration.

Meanwhile, Rais also said that the bemo replacement process is expected to be completed by January next year.

"We are hoping that by then no bemo will be operating on the city's streets," he said.

The city administration has decided to replace more than 1,000 bemos with other vehicles because bemos are no longer considered appropriate as a city public transportation vehicle.

The administration plans to deploy 60 new vehicles this month. Thus far 370 bemo owners have so joined the city's program, acquiring minivans through low-interest loans. (yns)