<p>Two months after GAIL Gas launched Bengaluru’s first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station, only 28 private cars have been retro-fitted with CNG kits in the entire city. <br /><br /></p>.<p>But this hitherto slow transition to the cleaner, cheaper CNG is all set to be speeded up with at least three agencies ready to be issued retro-fitting licences.<br /><br />GAIL officials told DH that agencies, Lovato Gas, Care Cylinders and Sagas have applied for the licence. Once these are cleared, retro-fitting could pick up pace, offering some relief in a city with an estimated 64 lakh vehicles. Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) studies have shown that vehicles contribute 43% of the pollutants in the city’s air. <br /><br />Located at Premnagar on Laggere Road near Summanahalli, the CNG station could fuel 50 vehicles in an hour. At current market rates, CNG is being filled at Rs. 41.50 per kg, a price considerably cheaper than petrol/diesel. <br /><br />But retro-fitting does not come cheap. For four-wheelers, the process could cost as much as Rs 55,000. However, as GAIL officials informed, analysis of data sourced from CNG vehicle-users show that the mileage is far better than petrol vehicles. Maintenance costs too are reduced. <br /><br />For instance, a Maruti Alto car will give 17 km for a litre of petrol and 21 km/kg if retro-fitted for CNG. <br /><br />If petrol price is taken as Rs 70.70/litre, this will work out to Rs 6.43 for every kilometre. In the case of a CNG Alto, the fuel cost will be only Rs 1.98, a saving of Rs 4.45/km. <br />The study analysed various cars including hatchbacks and sedans from Hyundai, Honda, Mitsubishi, Chevrolet, Maruti and Maruti Suzuki to conclude that CNG cars offer an average saving of Rs 3.61 for every kilometre. Delhi, Mumbai and Pune now have CNG vehicles in big numbers. <br /><br />CNG Task Force <br />To accelerate the adoption of CNG in Bengaluru, GAIL officials and CNG kit manufacturers association members had recently met the transport minister. On the cards is a separate task force for CNG vehicles. The transport department is expected to finalise this soon.<br />However, for GAIL, the game-changer will be the entry of CNG buses run by BMTC. <br /><br />Although GAIL has set up three stations at the Peenya, Summanahalli and Hennur depots, BMTC is yet to procure any CNG bus. The move to acquire 200 such buses has been put on hold, apparently due to paucity of funds. The steep price tag of a CNG bus (estimated at about Rs 84 lakh) is said to be a big factor. The task force is expected to take a final decision.<br /> </p>
<p>Two months after GAIL Gas launched Bengaluru’s first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station, only 28 private cars have been retro-fitted with CNG kits in the entire city. <br /><br /></p>.<p>But this hitherto slow transition to the cleaner, cheaper CNG is all set to be speeded up with at least three agencies ready to be issued retro-fitting licences.<br /><br />GAIL officials told DH that agencies, Lovato Gas, Care Cylinders and Sagas have applied for the licence. Once these are cleared, retro-fitting could pick up pace, offering some relief in a city with an estimated 64 lakh vehicles. Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) studies have shown that vehicles contribute 43% of the pollutants in the city’s air. <br /><br />Located at Premnagar on Laggere Road near Summanahalli, the CNG station could fuel 50 vehicles in an hour. At current market rates, CNG is being filled at Rs. 41.50 per kg, a price considerably cheaper than petrol/diesel. <br /><br />But retro-fitting does not come cheap. For four-wheelers, the process could cost as much as Rs 55,000. However, as GAIL officials informed, analysis of data sourced from CNG vehicle-users show that the mileage is far better than petrol vehicles. Maintenance costs too are reduced. <br /><br />For instance, a Maruti Alto car will give 17 km for a litre of petrol and 21 km/kg if retro-fitted for CNG. <br /><br />If petrol price is taken as Rs 70.70/litre, this will work out to Rs 6.43 for every kilometre. In the case of a CNG Alto, the fuel cost will be only Rs 1.98, a saving of Rs 4.45/km. <br />The study analysed various cars including hatchbacks and sedans from Hyundai, Honda, Mitsubishi, Chevrolet, Maruti and Maruti Suzuki to conclude that CNG cars offer an average saving of Rs 3.61 for every kilometre. Delhi, Mumbai and Pune now have CNG vehicles in big numbers. <br /><br />CNG Task Force <br />To accelerate the adoption of CNG in Bengaluru, GAIL officials and CNG kit manufacturers association members had recently met the transport minister. On the cards is a separate task force for CNG vehicles. The transport department is expected to finalise this soon.<br />However, for GAIL, the game-changer will be the entry of CNG buses run by BMTC. <br /><br />Although GAIL has set up three stations at the Peenya, Summanahalli and Hennur depots, BMTC is yet to procure any CNG bus. The move to acquire 200 such buses has been put on hold, apparently due to paucity of funds. The steep price tag of a CNG bus (estimated at about Rs 84 lakh) is said to be a big factor. The task force is expected to take a final decision.<br /> </p>
