SBS rolls out 10 more
'greenies'
(Straits Times, 25/4/06)
TRANSPORT company SBS Transit has put 10 more compressed natural
gas (CNG) buses on the road, four years after buying them to
support a green initiative.
The operator said it has taken this long to launch the buses
because of the appreciably higher costs involved in running CNG
buses.
The company, part of Comfort DelGro Corp, started with two CNG
buses on two services that piled Jurong Island in 2002. These were
transferred to service 105 in 2003 when it stopped operating the
Jurong Island route.
Comfort DelGro spokesman Tammy Tan said higher running and
maintenance costs made SBS Transit delay deploying the 10 other CNG
buses already paid for and delivered in 2002.
The maintenance cost of a CNG bus is 82 per cent higher than a
diesel model. And fuel cost is 44 per cent higher, Ms Tan added,
citing 2005 figures.
"First, they have to be refuelled at Jurong Island," she said,
explaining the distance and inconvenience involved. "CNG is also
more expensive than the diesel we buy in bulk."
And because CNG buses have fuel tanks on the roof, Ms Tan said they
cannot be double-deckers, which are more cost-efficient to
operate.
Then, there is the higher vehicle cost to start with. The Straits
Times understands each CNG bus costs about $350,000, about 40 per
cent more than a Euro II diesel single-deck bus.
SBS' disenchantment with CNG aside, some other parties are in
favour of the fuel.
Taxi operator Smart Automobile has secured two sites to set up CNG
refuelling kiosks, one in Serangoon North, the other in Toh
Tuck.
Smart managing director Johnny Harjantho told The Straits Times he
has roped in Italian CNG specialist Safe-CNG Asia to build the
stations. He expect the first kiosk to open for business in
September.
Smart has 660 taxis, with 101 of them Mercedes-Benz bi-fuel E-class
vehicles that can run on either petrol or natural gas.
Mercedes dealer Cycle & Carriage has sold more than 100 such
cars to private consumers. They retail for $168,000 each, about
$8,000 less than a petrol-only equivalent.
