Vehicle emissions tests to be introduced in Jakarta

Here’s something I’ve been asking for, for a long time, vehicle emissions tests. Bali as an island has relatively clean air. We are surrounded by water, get decent sea breezes, plenty of rice paddies etc. The problem is the traffic density, and the horrible state of some of the vehicles out here, both is design and function.

The trucks all use deisel fuel, which is a dirty, nasty, lung covering way to go. When I ride in the mountains on major roads, I get stuck behind dump trucks, belching black deisel fumes. I tell you, when I get home I can feel it in my lungs and its like being poisoned. Those little silver shit-box delivery trucks are super bad too. Every time they change gear hey kick out a stench.
For motorbikes, I have a hatred of anything 2-stroke. You can buy those bikes cheap, that’s why Balinese love them, and they go fast. They downside is a single 2-stroke bike can smoke out a street in one trip. When I go through an intersection at night, I can see a toxic fog of fumes. Strangley Balinese people don’t seem to mind all this pollution. Maybe no one has told them its bad or them.
The Jakarta Post reports today that emission testing on cars and bikes will be law sometime soon in Jakarta. That is great news and I hope Bali follows. They are talking about 50,000rp for a test. I’m all for it, but knowing Indonesia, the emissions test could just turn into another money making scam for group of people (‘you give me 100,000rp and you pass’). We’ll see, if it only improve trucks and buses it will be worth it.