Taxi operators find it tough converting from diesel to CNG in Delhi-NCR

Traffic snarls in Delhi as the odd-even scheme ran out its phase II on April 30 and a double whammy in the form of the notification of the Supreme Court (SC) ordering diesel taxis off the roads from May 1 has hit taxi operators hard. This follows the apex court’s ban on diesel vehicles with above 2000cc engines from plying on the capital’s roads.

Many of the private taxi operators and those running vehicles for BPOs have begun protests at the capital’s Jantar Mantar threatening to go on a ‘Chakka jam’ if their demands of removing the diesel ban are not met with immediate effect.

All in all, it’s tough days ahead for commuters with diesel taxis going off the roads. Time to take a recap of the scenario.

The problem stems from the SC notification on 16 December 2015 making it necessary for diesel and petrol taxis to convert to CNG in the National Capital Territory to curb rising air pollution. This was followed by another notification extending the ban on diesel taxis to the National Capital Region encompassing Delhi and its satellite towns in January this year. This has now become a bone of contention as it afflicts the livelihood of a large chunk of taxi owners.

The conversion of diesel vehicles to CNG was mandated by 31 March 2016 but there was a petition for reconsideration which was rejected by the Supreme Court in its latest order of 30 April, making it mandatory for diesel taxis to convert to CNG from May 1 if they wanted to have a free run in the NCR.

The Ministry of Tourism-approved Indian Tourist Transport Association (ITTA) runs around 12,000 all-India diesel taxis of its members of which about 5,500 taxis ply in the Delhi-NCR.  KD Yadav, president of ITTA, told Autocar Professional that conversion of diesel taxis would involve large investments in purchasing new CNG ones as there is no technology available for converting diesel to CNG. While the association is awaiting the Court order to shape its future course of action, it claims its all-India tourist taxi drivers are being harassed and intercepted by the police in the capital.

ITTA, which outsources its tourist taxis to the Indian Association of Tour Operators, has received a 9-year permit for operating its tourist taxis from the Delhi government but Gour Kanjilal, executive director of IATO, says that the Supreme Court order has not filtered down to the police and they are impacting their taxi drivers adversely by imposing challans that vary from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000. This has affected their earnings badly.

Additionally, it has brought their tourism business to a standstill as tourists prefer to bypass the capital as it has created a bad image about Delhi bringing down tourism traffic. More than 100 tour operators function under the IATO who hire the taxis from ITTA. The Tour Operators also have link ups with hoteliers for bookings under the tour packages. Now they say even hotels have upped their luxury taxes by 15 percent in this backdrop, further reducing tourist inflow. Kanjilal says the SC notification was for diesel taxis that function from point to point and not for all-India taxis. The Delhi government must intervene and negotiate on their behalf with hotel operators and extend the time limit for buying CNG taxis for functioning in the Delhi-NCR, he says.

Not an easy task when Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has already upped his ante on curbing air pollution by enforcing the odd-even scheme in the capital on a regular basis and has made his intentions clear to toe the SC order of allowing only CNG taxis to operate in the city.

SIAM bats for diesel

Meanwhile, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which represents vehicle manufacturers and engine makers in India, had put out a statement last week referring to the SC ban on diesel passenger cars of 2000cc and above engine capacity and had pointed out that according to the study conducted recently by IIT Kanpur all types of passenger cars as a whole contributed only 2 percent of the PM 2.5 pollution load in the NCT. Of this 2 percent – all diesel cars – contributed only 1.5 percent of the PM 2.5 pollution load.

Further, BS-IV diesel cars contributed only 0.5 percent of PM 2.5 emissions and since the automotive industry had made significant investments in the diesel technology in line with the investment policies of the government, placing bans on a legally compliant industry is tantamount to an infringement of the fundamental right to do business in the country.

When contacted on the vexatious issue of the ban on the diesel taxis additionally, KK Gandhi, executive director - Technical of SIAM, clarified that petrol taxis are already being retrofitted with CNG kits. But conversion of diesel drivetrain and engine to CNG is a very complex system. “First diesel will have to be converted to petrol and then retrofitted with the CNG kit as there is no technology for retrofitting diesel with CNG kits directly available. Neither is it recommended.”

Recounting an earlier experiment undertaken in the early 2000s by the Delhi Government following a Supreme Court order for converting diesel buses to CNG, he said that proved to be unsuccessful. This effectively means that new CNG taxis will have to be now bought after disposing off existing diesel ones. This would involve additional cost as CNG vehicles would be higher priced than their petrol counterparts. Retrofitment of a petrol car to CNG to meet BS-IV emission norms would normally involve a cost of Rs 60,000-70,000 with taxi owners requiring a third-generation CNG kit.

The next hearing for the ban on diesel vehicles with above 2-litre engines is slated to come up on 9 May but the larger question of the errant diesel vehicles polluting air quality remains unanswered and not supported by facts.

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