Officials at Tajikistan's Communications and Transportation Ministry are expected to start using bicycles instead of their business cars as of April 1.
Talking to RFE/RL's Tajik Service, Deputy Communications and Transportation Minister Beg Zuhurov said that the measure is very serious and its major goal is to save money.
According to Zuhurov, some officials at the ministry, including him, have been using bicycles from time to time already.
Tajik parliamentary deputy Muhammad Zabirov told RFE/RL's Tajik Service he is ready to give up using his business car if need be, adding though that he would prefer to travel to work by foot.
But according to Zabirov, Dushanbe's streets are not bike-friendly enough.
With Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan is Central Asia's poorest country, and is feeling the strains of the economic crisis.
The IMF has promised to give Tajikistan aid worth $120 million and Dushanbe has just secured another $40 million from the Asian Development Bank.
-- Tajik Service