Government Will Restrict Vehicular Circulation if the Price of Crude Reaches us$60 a Barrel
The government is studying a plan to limit vehicular circulation if the price of crude oil surpasses the us$60 per barrel mark.

According to Ministro de Ambiente y Energía (Minae), Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, this would be a drastic measure and will use the print, radio and television media to let the public know the measures that will be adopted to conserve the use of petroleum products.

Yesterday, the price of a barrel of crude reached a record high og us$57.27 on the New York exchange.

This will no doubt result in a increase in the price of gasoline at the pumps.

Gloria Villa, a director at Minae, says the government needs to evaluate and find ways to conserve energy and that vehicled be more fuel efficient.

One of the proposals being looked at is to vary the hours of public employees to eliminate the usual morning and afternoon rush hour traffic jams. The General Cañas highway (San José to Alajueal) near the tool booths a short distance from the airport is common bottleneck that sees traffic backed up for up 1/2 kilometre between 3pm and 5pm each weekday.

The Muñoz y Nanne intersection, east of San Pedro Mall, is another bottleneck that each day drivers waste gasoline and patience while manouvering through the intersection.

No other specific measures are being discussed publicly, but rumours like limiting circulation based on the last number of the license plate continue. Like in Mexico City, a vehicle is restricted from circulating based on a sticker that is either odd or even numbered. In Costa Rica the last digit of the license plate would take the place of the sticker used in Mexico City, and would reduce the number of vehicles on the roads at one time.

Other plans being discussed are more effective public transit system, like eliminating the number of buses coming into the downtown core. Currently all buses from all over Costa Rica make their final and stating stop in San José. The plan could limit these buses to the peripherals of the city and a "city" bus to take passengers to and from the regional buses.

Whatever plan is adopted or put in place, government officials recognize that something has to be done and now is good time as any, as most drivers are concerned with the high and rising price of gasoline.