Cars running on gas are more than just hot air

Since CNG Holdings opened its first filling station in Langlaagte in 2014, it has managed to convert more than 1 200 taxis, 150 Metro buses and 200 vehicles belonging to the City of Johannesburg to gas.

The company has three more filling stations in Dobsonville, Vanderbijlpark and Pretoria’s CBD.

CNG Holdings’ Wayne Williams said compressed natural gas was not only environmentally friendly but the safest fuel in the country as it was lighter than air and would therefore dissolve into the atmosphere in an event of a leakage.

The gas would also need a high concentration of air to burst into flames and their gas had a “a low concentration level of flammability”.

The company charged taxi owners (and other commercial vehicles) R4 000 to convert vehicles to compressed natural gas, a lower-carbon fossil fuel alternative to petrol.

It subsidised the payments because several taxi owners cannot afford the full amount required to convert, which was usually as high as R20 000.

According to Williams, users could save up to R5.25 per litre and over R10 000 a month on petrol after the conversion and subsidy payoff.

However, as the demand for compressed natural gas grew, there were still too few filling stations for users.

The conversion allows for the use of petrol once the gas is finished.

Williams advised that conversion was only advisable to high-mileage commercial vehicles. He said it meant they could pay off their gas tool kit quicker and benefit from the savings sooner, as opposed to personal vehicles that would take much longer to pay off.

During the CNG award ceremony for taxi drivers and owners yesterday, Williams said they needed more help from government as model countries using the same system had been given assistance by their governments, with China opening up to 300 natural gas filling stations.

“The government has not even subsidised one taxi. All we are asking for is for them to come to the party and support us. Even if they don’t give us cash, support the opening of new filling stations and see what impact they are making in the taxi industry,” said Williams.

Receiving the prize of R10 000 for buying the most gas for his minibus, taxi driver Tshepo Cornelius Mogane said the company’s product has made his job much easier.

“It’s cheaper and more convenient and when we want a service for our taxis, it’s free,” said Mogane .

– jenniffero@citizen.co.za

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