Why Singapore government adament on diesel car import?

qpicanto SG

Singapore govt eager to push ahead with Euro 4 emission for commercial vehicles but bury its head in the sand when come to diesel cars.

Diesel cars are used by developed countries in Europe. Are they not good enough for Singapore roads?

LTA is such a let-down.

Fingolfin_Noldor SG

Possibly because the money strings are connected to diesel one way or another. Laughing

chiabaliao SG

That's because they made rules to tie themselves up. In the past, they imposed high diesel tax on diesel taxis because of high carbon particulates found in diesel emission. Technology has come a long way since. Diesel engine is much cleaner now. But can they bring down the diesel tax if they allow the import of diesel engine private cars? NO! So they give another excuse - owners of diesel cars cannot be trusted to maintain their cars in tip top condition, so the ban on diesel private cars continues. This way, they still get to keep the high diesel tax they imposed on taxis.

ShutterBug SG

Our gov's logic in everything they do, is only MONEY.

Just think MONEY, and it will be pretty clear whay they do certain things certain way.

Just so long as they make MONEY for themselves, you can bet they will be on top of it.

bila_prem SG

Government is smart in imposing high diesel tax. I wonder if the government is making enuff money by raising taxi fares and other miscellaneous fees.

qpicanto SG

wiki -

'All taxicabs in Singapore have to pay for the much higher road tax applied to diesel-powered passenger cars, which was intended to deter people from using diesel-powered vehicles for private use. This road tax bill is foot by the taxi company (except for STTA taxis), and can be as high as S$6,300 annually. However, some operators are trialling vehicles powered by natural gas.'

'Most of the taxis in Hong Kong run on LPG (liquified petroleum gas) for protection of the environment. In August 2000 a one-off cash grant was paid to taxi owners who replaced their diesel taxi with an LPG one. By the end of 2003, over 99.8% of the taxi fleet in Hong Kong ran on LPG. Since August 2001, all newly purchased taxis run on LPG.'

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LTA is such a letdown.

So much for the eagerness to Euro 4 conversion. Then of course they approved Euro4 cab, resulting in even higher fare for consumers.

sbst275 SG

The worst I believe is the impose of 400% road tax premium on diesel powered vehicles

fymk SG

I read that you can use veg oil for diesel engines. How cool is that!

chiabaliao SG

You think our world class LTA would give grant for diesel taxis to convert to CNG? Grant is such a dirty word in their vocabulary. Even Taxi companies are so used to collecting high rentals on diesel taxis that a conversion to using all CNG means they have to lower the rental rates. That's a no no. In Singapore, what goes up cannot come down.

qpicanto SG

Realising the business potential for bio-diesel, the government which pay lip service to a greener emission stds e.g half-baked, insincere policy on the green hybrid vehicle, is unlikely to kill the cash cow for now.

Priority is still taxes, GLC profit margins at the expense of consumers e.g higher taxi fare and ridiculous diesel tax for Euro 4 cab.

qpicanto SG

Motorists in Hull are being offered the chance to buy diesel made partly from recycled cooking oil. The fuel - which went on sale at three filling stations in and around the city is also claimed to improve engine performance. The oil is made from a mixture of 95% ordinary diesel and 5% from reclaimed food oil.

qpicanto SG

double post

kopiosatu SG

why talk about diesel.

reduce the pollution with LPG.

the Bear SG

Mythbusters did this...

they filtered used oil from the deep fat fryer of a fastfood joint.. the diesel engine ran well with only 20% less mileage compared to normal diesel..

btw, how about the LTA say that they cannot trust the corporations like the bus companies and freighting companies to keep their engines maintained?

or force the bloody malaysian trucks to maintain theirs if they want to come into Singapore?

strangely, if you keep a diesel engine maintained, the savings from the fuel efficiency will more than pay for the maintenance!

but i guess most businesses are myopic to that

the Bear SG

uhh.. same pollution too.. carbon emissions..

so i don't understand what "pollution" is all about..

the only thing is that with petrol, there will be other pollutants other than carbon-based emissions...

kopiosatu SG

there has to be a reason why the streets of bangkok are not as bad like last time.

the Bear SG

you just don't smell or see it...

anyway, LPG burns more completely compared to diesel or petrol... you will not see fumes... but the result is the same, carbon dioxide is produced...

the main pollutant which is causing global warming is carbon emissions.. in the form of carbon dioxide..

kopiosatu SG

ok then for a start lets use LPG so there won't be much fumes when i'm riding!

Mitsubishi hater SG

the bloody NEA or LTA start to realise that Euro 2 is not sufficient to keep our air standard clean, then they implement Euro 4.

i think they are sleeping on the job as Euro 3 should be implement years ago to get ready for the transition to Euro 4.

again, it is the garment la....singaporean jus can go fly kite.