Electric Cars, Furgones,
Bicycles, Car Pooling
and Work At Home Are
Some Of The Solutions To
Beat The High Price Of
Gasoline
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Electric Cars, Furgones,
Bicycles, Car Pooling
and Work At Home Are
Some Of The Solutions To
Beat The High Price Of
Gasoline
The traffic situation
during the first two
days of the expanded
vehicular restrictions
of San José seemed to
have an a positive
effect in reducing
congestion as many
decided to keep their
cars at home and use
public transportation to
get to and from work.
Although it is too early
to tell for sure,
Transport officials want
to take credit for the
change. However, the
reality may really be
that Ticos are feeling
the pinch of high
gasoline prices as a
litre of super has hit a
record ˘656 colones and
regular ˘644.
That fact was evidenced
by the noticeable
reduction of traffic on
the downtown streets "carreteras"
(highways) of San José
on Saturday, a day when
the vehicular
restrictions do not
apply and pay day
weekend.
Restaurant and bar
owners can attest to
people not taking out
their cars on the
weekend, as they have
seen a marked drop in
customers since gasoline
prices went through the
roof and with more
increases on the way.
One restaurant owner in
Rohrmoser consulted by
told us that business
has dropped at least 10%
in the past several
weeks and fears the
worse is yet to come.
Ticos in general are
using reducing the
number of trips with the
cars unless absolutely
necessary. The situation
is also expected to
affect the mid year
school break that begins
next weekend as many
Ticos have said in
public poll published in
the local Spanish media
that they intend to
reduce their driving
distance or driving
altogether, cancelling
their vacation plans,
all due to the high cost
of gasoline.
An option that many
Ticos are considering
are the use of Liquefied
petroleum gas (also
called LPG), investing
up to us$2.000 to
convert their vehicle to
run on the cheaper fuel.
One LPG installer in
Hatillos, Eurogas, said
he went from 10
installations a week to
double that.
LPG fuel costs between
40% and 50% less than
gasoline, according to
Omar Calderón, manager
of Eurogas, who said
that the rise in
interest in LPG
conversions has been
strong during the past
six months.
Of course, there is
always "pedal" power, as
the bicycle is quickly
becoming the "in" method
of transportation to get
around. The bicycle is
rarely seen being used
in San José - though
highly used in smaller
communities like
Barranca, Puntarenas -
mostly for the lack of
bicycle paths and the
hilly topography, but
more the laziness of
Ticos to use their cars
for any type of trip.
Panamanian officials
report that sales of
gasoline to Costa Ricans
living near the Panama
border has dropped from
us$3.500 to us$1.200
daily since the price of
gasoline in Panama is
now the same as in Costa
Rica.
Another change that is
to become more common is
the the change for many
companies to using
"biodiesel" powered
vehicles and some
trading in their four
wheeled vehicles for the
more economical three or
the "motocarro" or "torito"
as its commonly called.
The toritos is small
furgon style three
wheeled vehicle that is
economical and
practical.
Another option that is
due to become popular is
the electric vehicle, an
alternative fuel car
that utilizes electric
motors and motor
controllers instead of
an internal combustion
engine. The electric
power is usually derived
from battery packs in
the vehicle.
Electric cars of Costa
Rica is one local
supplier of electric
vehicles for over five
years, offering a less
expensive, cleaner, and
more
environment-friendly way
of transportation for
people, products and
services.
Car pooling is another
option that so far has
been strange to Ticos,
where a number of adult
Ticos travel to and from
work together, using
only one vehicle, each
day.
Intel Costa Rica is one
company that is betting
on car pooling for their
employees. The company
has gone so far as
introducing "car pool
only" parking spaces.
The Ministerio de
Transportes is also
currently exploring the
idea of allowing "car
poolers" to no be bound
by the vehicular
restriction, while a
number of public
institutions and private
businesses are analyzing
the Intel example with
an eye to establishing
their own car pooling
concepts.
Some companies like
Hewlett Packard (HP) and
Procter & Gamble have
been providing
transportation pools for
their employees for some
time. The company has
been operating a series
of buses to pick up and
drop off employees at
specific stops.
Another option that is
being taken more
seriously is the work at
home concept, where
employees can perform
their tasks from the
comfort of their home,
connected by the
internet and telephone,
to be in contact with
their office and bosses. |
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The Piaggio Ape is one
solution that is becoming popular in San José as more
companies adopt the low fuel consumption vehicles.
Electric Cars of Costa Rica is offering several electric
vehicle solutions to using gasoline. |
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