Peru is finding itself currently in the middle of this sales and economic crisis in natural gas fuel.
The Associated Press in Lima reported that the South American country has declared a two-week natural gas emergency on Monday to prioritize residences, businesses, and public transport that use this type of fuel, after gas deliveries were suspended on Sunday following a deadly leak and subsequent flare-up on Peru’s main pipeline.
The gas affected is compressed natural gas or CNG, which several ridesharing cars and taxis in the country are using. This is the first time that significant gas deliveries were suspended for a wide 14 days since the pipeline affected has been operating for two decades already, and even more.
Compressed natural gas is a cleaner-burning and eco-friendly – more sustainable – alternative to gasoline and diesel, comprising mainly of methane. It is being produced by compressing natural gas to less than one percent of its volume at atmospheric pressure, usually stored in high-pressure cylinders and used in cars, trucks, and buses.
Edgar Pando, the spokesman for the Yellow Taxi Driver Union of Callao and Lima, told El Comercio, the leading newspaper in Peru, that the fleet has been reduced by 70 percent this week. In other words, many drivers, including those for Cabify, decided not to ply the road. Also, some gas stations in Lima have restricted access to their CNG dispensers.
Cabify is a ridesharing app in Peru that facilitates the transport of people and objects. Established by Juan de Antonio in 2011, the company operates in Spain, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. Previously, it was in Mexico, Portugal, and Brazil, but not anymore today.
Pando also noted that Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines added to the burden by discriminating against taxis authorized by institutions, to not include them among the public transportation vehicles authorized to run on this type of fuel.
“We are part of regular transport and the Integrated Transport System, but we are not considered in the solution issued by Minem,” the spokesman said. “All of this demonstrates that there was never any planning in case of a CNG shortage. If a 7- or 8-magnitude earthquake had occurred in Lima, Lima’s gas pipelines would have been affected, and we would have the same problem we have today. Diario El Comercio. Todos los derechos reservados."
Those who choose to continue driving are forced to purchase a different type of fuel that costs way more.
In the early hours after the sales ban, some drivers started lining up at gas stations to refuel.
However, driver Sinecio Lino noted, “Premium gasoline is costing up to 20 soles. Before, I only spent between 10 and 12 soles on CNG.”
A worker at Repsol gas station in the cities told Rideharing Forum that they are proceeding with caution with the addition of CNG to public transport buses and vans, since they “don’t want taxi drivers and private cars to also get involved and demand that” they fill them up.
The plot thickens for the driving community in Peru. For more ridesharing news, keep browsing this Ridesharing Forum site.