Fuel-saving measures

Now is really the time that a habit of saving energy is implemented in Indonesia. So many offices (including government offices) have their air conditions running while windows are open (because of smokers); in private households this happens as well.

Very concretely, I would suggest the following measures during the present fuel shortage: 1. Implement 2-3 car-free Sundays per month on the streets, where all private vehicles are banned from the streets, and only taxi, big buses (not metro mini and angkot and bajaj), ambulances and police are allowed to drive. This was done in 1973 in Germany during the global oil crisis. There are two effects, first, the gasoline that will be saved and second, the city's residents will be able to breathe better. 2. Punish all drivers/owners who leave their vehicles parked with idling engines. 3. Stop the increase in the numbers of cars on the road that consume large amounts of fuel and encourage people, especially in the cities, to buy cars with excellent fuel efficiency. 4. Ban trucks and buses with thick, black emissions, as those are likely to be old and thus burn more fuel. 5. Expand the busway system and substitute Metro Mini services, this will create more load on the busway system thus decrease fuel per passenger consumption, at least in the central areas of Jakarta. 6. Improve the traffic flow by further restrictions within a defined central zone in Jakarta in order to reduce traffic jams and thus optimize cars' fuel usage. 7. Start a campaign for "car pooling" so that friends and neighbors can share cars to go to work.

There are many other possibilities but 1, 2 and 4 can be implemented now.

JOACHIM HARTMANN Jakarta