Taxi firms eagerly await compulsory use of CNG

Taxi firms eagerly await compulsory use of CNG

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Taxi companies have said they are ready to make the switch to
compressed natural gas (CNG) if the Jakarta administration builds
more CNG stations across the city.

The spokesman for the Blue Bird Group, Teguh Wijayanto, said
on Tuesday his company, which operates some 9,000 taxis, was
ready to switch to CNG if the administration was prepared to
enforce the mandatory use of compressed natural gas by public
transportation vehicles.

"The key to the successful use of CNG by public transportation
is the seriousness of the city administration. If it can
guarantee a gas supply, we are ready to use CNG anytime," Teguh
told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

The city administration recently signed a bylaw on air
pollution that would require public transportation vehicles to
use CNG instead of gasoline. Such a move would reduce air
pollution in Jakarta, which is among the most polluted cities in
the world.

Calls for the use of CNG have increased since the government
raised fuel prices by an average of 29 percent on March 1. The
increase in fuel prices was followed by higher transportation
fares.

Blue Bird Group began operating 400 CNG taxis in 1987 after an
intensive campaign for the use of the more environmentally
friendly fuel, but took the taxis off the street in 1991 because
of a lack of CNG stations.

According to state oil and gas company Pertamina, only 10 of
17 CNG stations in Greater Jakarta are still operating. However,
taxi drivers told the Post on Tuesday the number of operating CNG
stations was fewer than five.

Teguh said the Blue Bird Group operated one CNG station on Jl.
Mampang Prapatan for taxis and private vehicles.

The head of the business division of Cooperative Taxi (Kosti),
Muhammad Nur, said about 1,000 of the taxis operated by the
cooperative had dual fuel systems that allowed them to use either
CNG or gasoline.

He said drivers preferred to use CNG because it was less
expensive than gasoline. Gasoline currently costs Rp 2,400 (27 US
cents) per liter, while CNG costs Rp 1,550 per liter equivalent.

"After the recent fuel price increases, taxies using CNG have
become more popular among drivers because they can save up to Rp
28,500 compared to using gasoline," Muhammad said.

Kosti driver Abdul Kadir, 55, who has driven a dual fuel
system taxi since 1995, said he preferred filling his taxi with
CNG, but the lack of CNG stations made it inconvenient.

"The problem is that because there are so few stations, those
CNG stations that are open have long lines of cars. We would
really thank the administration if it built more gas stations,"
Abdul told the Post.

The lack of stations is also affecting the number of private
vehicles using CNG. According to Pertamina, there were only about
500 private vehicles in Jakarta using CNG last year, compared to
1,500 in 2003, 2,500 in 2022, 4,660 in 2001 and 6,633 in 2000.

There are at least three institutions involved in the CNG
supply -- Pertamina as the producer, state-owned gas distributor
PT Perusahaan Gas Negara and the Jakarta administration as the
regulator.

The three are now discussing a memorandum of understanding on
the supply and distribution of CNG in the city, in anticipation
of its mandatory use by public transportation vehicles beginning
next year.