Buses run on LPG in Indonesian fuel trial

JAKARTA (JP): A supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is conducting a three-month trial run with the first bus ever to use LPG in Indonesia.

Chris Sulisto, president of PT Otogas Karya Pratama, said that while the hundreds of cars have been converted in Jakarta and a few in Bali, the bus is the first diesel-fueled vehicle to use LPG.

"Until recently, people thought it was impossible to convert a diesel-fueled car to be LPG fueled," he said.

The government has been encouraging the use of alternative energy for public transportation to implement its recent "blue sky campaign" to reduce air pollution.

The use of LPG, Chris said, reduces not only air and sound pollution but also maintenance costs.

He said the bus' fuel tank is capable of storing up to 240 liters of gas (80 percent), enabling it to cover a distance of 576 kilometers.

To ensure the passengers' safety, the LPG tank is made eight times thicker than an ordinary gasoline tank.

If it proves effective, he said, the Ministry of Transportation, to which the bus belongs, has agreed to use LPG, which will go on the market under the name otogas, more widely.

"Perhaps the ministry will encourage other government agencies to follow suit," he added.

Chris admitted that the conversion of diesel-fueled vehicles is still costly, ranging from Rp 10 million for new cars to Rp 20 million for older ones.

"We already have our own garage and staff to do the work, but we still have to import the spare parts," he said, adding that efforts have been made to lower the price to between Rp 7 million and Rp 9 million.

Noting that the Citra taxi company has recently converted 750 cabs, four other cab companies have also converted several of theirs. Chris said more taxies would use gas fuel if there were more LPG filling stations.

"Right now we only have four, one in Bali and the rest are in Jakarta," he said, "but by January 1997 we will operate 21 filling stations in all districts of Jakarta."

The company has invested Rp 2.5 billion on every filling station. (04)