Oil is not well

My wife has been nagging me to take her somewhere expensive for a change. So the other day, I drove her to a gas station.

Insensitive and unromantic as it may be, you would have to be hiding under an oil barrel bigger than Gaddafi’s ego or at least one as large as the welt on my forehead to not notice the sharp rise in fuel prices that has come about due to the ongoing crisis in Libya as well as the escalating violence in other oil producing nations. As I write this piece, gasoline prices range from P53 to P59 a liter for the top shelf stuff.

Sure there may be little we can do about stabilizing the world’s supply of crude, but while the front page of most dailies litter themselves with quotes from various politicians demanding for “forward commercial storage agreements” with oil-exporting countries or state-owned Strategic Petroleum Reserves, as needed as they may be, I believe they are missing some very elementary measures that would not just reduce our dependency on foreign supplies, but more importantly, promote a much needed change in our mindset and lifestyle by sending a globally responsible message.

If the government is at all serious about the fuel crisis and the environment, it really needs to take the first hit and eliminate the taxes on all hybrids as well as any factory fitted alternatively fueled vehicle. It is absolutely ridiculous how the locally offered Toyota Prius can cost as much as the top of the line Camry. That’s like charging more for a bicycle than a motorcycle.

Take the recently launched Lexus CT200, which is a very stylish luxury hybrid hatch that is turning a lot more than just heads. It is a shining example of how something so responsible can still have enough bad-boy charm to woo non-traditional customers. But at P2.3 to P2.88 million, Lexus Manila President, Danny Isla, is projecting only 50 units for the year. In stark contrast, Lexus Malaysia, which is supported by zero government taxes for hybrids, are projecting a very healthy 800 units – despite being an oil rich nation.

Pause for a moment and ask yourself what is wrong with that picture.

Hybrid technology, and other alternative fuel programs need nurturing if it is to have any significant impact. I don’t want to turn this into a political piece, but if there’s any hope in hell of this idea becoming popular enough to make a difference, it needs someone with balls as big as LPG tanks to start making some tough calls. We will never completely eliminate our dependency on oil producing countries, but we can certainly reduce it.

Think about it. If the government reduced the charges for registration, made it tax free, and exempted all hybrid cars from coding, wouldn’t that be incentive enough to ditch your SUV, or sport utility victim? Also, while we’re on it, why not make it compulsory for all new taxi franchises to use a hybrid? The way I see it, without the exorbitant taxes, the Prius should come in at just over a million bucks. That is not too far off what some taxi operators are already paying for an Altis; and assuming they get double the current mileage (which is a conservative figure), they’ll save approximately one thousand pesos a day in gas, which should give them a return of investment in less than a year.

Sound too simple? Sometimes the best plans and ideas are.

With the taxi problem solved, the next step would be the jeepneys, busses and the tricycles. Enough is enough. No politician wants to touch this because it’s considered anti-poor. If that’s true, its still a whole lot better than being anti-earth. Put the damn things on LPG or CNG already. And please don’t talk to me about a lack of funds. If you can find a few hundred million pesos for pabaon…

Aside from reacting to this fuel crisis, we really need to set better standards for ourselves and drive change instead of just dealing with it once it arrives. I’m not asking for the president to convert his Porsche to LPG, but the least he can do is allow us a cost-effective option of one. I haven’t met a single person that said they wouldn’t buy a hybrid or a factory fitted LPG powered van if the price was comparable to the gasoline-powered equivalent. It all comes down to cost. Someone’s gotta absorb it and who better than the very people who claim to be the saviors of the world. Now’s your chance.

The race is on, only this time the checkered flag is green. The lost revenue from taxes may seem like large chunk of change to our government, but then again, look at what it’s changing.