TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The efforts of Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto to increase air quality in the city is starting to come to life. The mayor launched 50 LPG-fueled public transportats on Thursday, November 6, 2014. "These vehicles are more efficient and environmentally-friendly," he said.

Bima said hordes of public transportation drivers had expressed their desire to convert their vehicles to run on LPGs, but the Bogor authorities have yet to expand the initiative as the city's LPG infrastructure remained insufficient.

"We are waiting for the State Gas Company (PGN) to prepare the supporting infrastructures, and also, we need to buy more converter kits," said Bima.

Currently, there is only one LPG-station in Bogor, which is located on Jl. Merdeka in Central Bogor. However, according to Bima, six more LPG stations are about to be opened for service. "The locations are set to intersect the routes of our current LPG fleets," said Bima.

Bogor is also mulling the use of electricity-powered vehicles to be utilized as public transports, and one vehicle is currently being trialled by the administration. "We're still studying its feasibility. For the time being, we'll focus on LPG-fueled vehicles," said Bima.

The deputy secretary of Bogor's Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda), Yadi Indra Mulyadi, has welcomed the Mayor's initiative. "So far, LPG-fueled vehicles have been introduced on four routes within Bogor—namely, Route 01, 10, 12, and 15," said Yadi, adding that all of these routes pass the LPG-station on Jl. Merdeka.

"It's more efficient, it's cheaper to run on, and it's more environmentally-friendly," said Yadi.

Yadi explained that by using the equivalent amount of seven liters of Premium (a brand of subsidized fuel marketed by state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina), minibuses on Route 12 could go on five return trips before having to refuel.

Similarly, minibuses serving Route 14 can complete four return trips before having to refuel. "This will cost minibus drivers around Rp30,000. They've had to pay Rp50,000 to complete the same journey in gasoline-fueled minibuses," said Yadi.

M SIDIK PERMANA