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.