Mataram Echelon II Officials Begin Using Bicycles for Fuel Efficiency

Mataram (ANTARA) - The Mayor of Mataram and his Echelon II officials within the Mataram City Government, West Nusa Tenggara Province, on Monday (6/4), began using bicycles for commuting to the office as a measure to support the government in saving fuel oil (BBM).

“The policy of cycling to the office is part of efforts to optimise the budget by reducing fuel use for official vehicles, which has been agreed upon collectively,” said the Secretary of the Regional Government (Sekda) of Mataram City, H Lalu Alwan Basri, in Mataram on Monday.

With the implementation of this policy, the city government has also prepared bicycle parking spaces for officials arriving at the Mayor’s Office area for various activities.

As a result, the parking area at the Mayor’s Office, which was usually filled with official cars of Echelon II officials, is no longer visible, including the vehicles of the Mayor of Mataram, the Deputy Mayor of Mataram, and the Sekda of Mataram City, as they have switched to bicycles.

The Sekda stated that officials are free to choose the type of bicycle they use. Both electric bicycles and conventional ones can be used for commuting to the office.

“Please feel free, whether using an electric bicycle, conventional one, or even an old-fashioned bicycle—it’s all fine, as long as it’s efficient and environmentally friendly,” he said.

It was explained that for the use of bicycles by Echelon II officials, the Mataram City Government has also regulated the distance or radius of officials’ and employees’ residences affected by the cycling policy to the office.

Officials whose residences are a maximum of 5 kilometres from the office must use bicycles. Those with a radius greater than 5 kilometres may still use alternative vehicles.

To optimise the implementation of this policy, the Mataram City Government has issued a circular regarding the maximum distance of officials’ homes who must use bicycles.

However, after identification, the average residence of Echelon II officials in Mataram City is still in the city centre or within a radius of less than 5 kilometres.

According to him, the use of bicycles starting this week is still being trialled among officials only. However, it does not rule out the possibility that the policy will also be applied to other employees using special vehicles or ASN buses.

“For the plan to use ASN buses, we are currently still awaiting studies and other options from the Transportation Department to make operations more optimal,” he said.