Watching vehicles of all kinds and sizes cue for petrol at the gas station across the street from my hotel in Makale is a flash-back to ‘70s American gas rationing. Cars, trucks, buses, and motorbikes line up in and out of the station and into the very narrow, dusty local road which is the only way through town. The line-up causes traffic jams, which in turn cause all sorts of chaos and confusion as transport of all kinds attempts to maneuver into, or around, the station.
Frequently the few gas stations here run out of gas – all at different times of day. Many days they ALL run out of gas, and the curb-side petrol vendors dispense the liquid gold from Absolut bottles through a plastic funnel for a premium price. Sometimes even these shops run out of expensive gas, and then it’s panic time if you need to get anywhere.
Petrol is king in this area; I’m quite sure that the only thing from preventing all-out gang warfare over it is Indonesian patience and reluctance to lose face. Seriously – if the ONLY way you can get anywhere is via your petrol-powered vehicle, and said vehicle is sidelined due to lack of fuel, you’re bound to get a little hot.
My American “sensibilities” cause me to wonder how the people here put up with this situation. Indonesia has PLENTY of its own petrol, and yet people in this somewhat remote area (which is truly NOT very remote by Indonesian definitions) have to put “cue in line for petrol” on their daily “to do” lists. It’s disruptive to life, not to mention a complete waste of time and the very petrol the half-full trucks use to deliver it.
One night Merda, my host here, motioned towards a closed gas station, pointing out the trucks that were lined up at the pumps, engines off and no drivers in sight. She explained to me that when the stations ran out of gas during the night, truck and car owners would park their cars in line and get up early the next morning to fill up and move them. That was the only way to guarantee they would get fuel without having to wait in a long line the next morning. Sigh.
This year, Indonesians will be hit with a huge rise in gas prices. Torajans can expect to pay between Rp 6000-6500 (US $0.65-0.71) per liter for fuel by April, with rumored additional increases later in the year. Why? I can’t seem to get to the bottom of that one. This is still dirt cheap by American standards, but it will represent a 30% increase for Indonesians. While a price increase that dramatic might deter people from frivolous driving in the US, there is not a lot of frivolous driving here – most people just simply can’t afford it.
The effect this increase will have on the lines at the pump remains to be seen. For now I’ll just continue to gawk at the station across the street with its constant stream of vehicles that only stops when the petrol runs out.
And for a bit of irony – the whole block just suffered a blackout, and the petrol station has a generator! Isn’t that sweet?!?
