Speech By Mr Lim Swee Say
Minister for the Environment

At the Launch of the CNG Bus and Taxis Pilot Project

at SembCorp Gas CNG Refueling Station, Jurong Island

on 22 April 2002 at 10am

Today is "Car Free Day", yet we are here to launch CNG Bus and Taxis. Is there a contradiction?

No. There is no contradiction because both initiatives share the common objective of reducing vehicular pollution in Singapore, even though through different approaches.

The air quality in Singapore is good. It has stayed good for many years now notwithstanding the fast pace of industralisation and urbanisation. We have tight regulations to control the emission of pollutants by power plants, factories and vehicles.

We aim to keep air quality in Singapore at the current level, if not better, for a long time to come. This is why we need to take pro-active steps to promote the use of cleaner sources of energy in our industry, especially the power generation and transportation sectors.

Diesel Vehicles And Their Emissions

In Singapore, vehicular emission accounts for 50% of fine particles in the air. Although diesel vehicles account for only 18% of our vehicle population, they account for almost all of the fine particles in our air originating from vehicles.

Fine particulate matter is insidious. These fine particles are able to penetrate deeply into our lungs because of their small size. It would be prudent to keep fine particulate levels as low as possible in order to protect the health of the population.

Many countries, such as the US and EU countries have decided to tighten the emission standards for diesel and petrol vehicles to reduce their emissions. For example, EU countries have implemented the Euro III emission standards since October 2000. They also have plans to tighten the standards to Euro IV and V in 2005 and 2008 respectively.

Here in Singapore, we have implemented the Euro II emission standards since January 2001. We are also looking at the introduction of Euro III emission standards at an appropriate time.

Besides tightening on emission standard, we are promoting the use of cleaner sources of energy.

Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles

Natural gas is a cleaner fuel. CNG vehicles emit little or no fine particulates, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen. CNG vehicle manufacturers have demonstrated that CNG vehicles can meet the Euro IV and even Euro V emission standards. Hence, the introduction of CNG vehicles will mean having vehicles that meet Euro IV emission standards even before Euro III standards are adopted here.

Natural gas vehicles also produce lower noise levels than diesel vehicles. This is another positive feature of CNG vehicles. The greater use of CNG vehicles for public transportation will result in a quieter urban environment, which will be a plus for our living environment.

To pave the way for the eventual widespread introduction of CNG buses in Singapore, ENV, SembCorp Gas and SBS Transit signed an Agreement on 30 November last year to undertake the pilot CNG bus project in Jurong. I am happy to see that in a short period of just 6 months, we now have the first CNG refilling station in Singapore, and our first CNG bus is ready for trial operation.

This is just the beginning. By the end of the year, there will be 12 CNG buses on the road to serve commuters in the Jurong area. I wish to congratulate our partners (SembCorp Gas and SBS Transit) for their quick progress. I also wish to thank them for their strong support in this important initiative.

Today, I am also happy to welcome on board our taxi companies in our efforts to exploit the potential of CNG vehicles for public transportation. Both Comfort and CityCab have decided to introduce CNG taxis and be our partners in this CNG pilot exercise. They are showcasing four CNG car models, which are being evaluated for use in Singapore. This is an important first step. I look forward to seeing more CNG taxis plying our roads soon.

The launch of the first CNG bus and the impending introduction of CNG taxis on our road is a result of excellent teamwork between the private and public sectors. Our industry partners, SBS Transit, taxi companies CityCab and Comfort, SembCorp Gas and several motor traders have been most supportive. In fact, just a month ago, we were in Australia together to study the operation of CNG bus system.

To support the eventual widespread deployment of CNG buses and taxis in Singapore, ENV has concluded a Letter of Intent with the Sydney Institute, a leading technical institute in Australia that provides a comprehensive range of CNG-related training programmes. Working in partnership with ITE (Institute of Technical Education), ENV aims to put in place a series of CNG-related training courses to meet the needs of the industry. One of the first programmes will focus on the operational and maintenance aspects of CNG vehicles.

We still have a lot of work to do ahead of us. For example, we need to upgrade and train more technical personnel. ENV is working with the Motor Industry Certification Board or MICB to establish the standards and certification criteria for CNG vehicles, workshops and mechanics. We need to have more CNG refilling stations in other parts of Singapore to better serve a growing pool of CNG buses and taxis. We also need to expand the use of CNG buses beyond Jurong.

The pilot trial of CNG buses and taxis is an important first step for us to take. It will enable the fleet operators, motor traders, gas suppliers and vehicle workshops to gain a better understanding of the operational aspects of CNG vehicles. For the general public, CNG vehicles will provide a new and greener commuting experience. This launch today will lay the ground for us to gradually extend the use of CNG vehicles to goods and commercial vehicles as well in time to come.

Friends and partners, on behalf of the ENV, I thank you again for your support and partnership. It now gives me great pleasure to declare the first CNG refilling station open, and to launch the first CNG Bus.

Thank you.