All About Alternate Fuel Vehicles (AFV)

By Cesar C. Villariba Jr., Inquirer,
Manila, Philippines, 12 Nov 2007

The first fleet of “Clean” buses is now rolling on the roads of Metro Manila. Marked “Hapi Bus,” the colorful vehicles have been plying the Manila/Cubao to Laguna/Batangas routes since Oct. 24 in a campaign to promote clean air in the heavily polluted metropolis.  Each capable of ferrying a maximum of 55 passengers, the buses run on compressed natural gas (CNG) supplied by the Philippines’ own gas fields off Palawan. Using energy from compressed natural gas results in zero toxic gas emissions and, thus, a clean air environment, says Nicky Hidalgo Jr., vice president for public relations of KL-CNG Bus Corp.

CNG involves technology used in countries like the United States, France, Argentina, India and Pakistan. Unlike liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), CNG is lighter than air, Hidalgo says. The fuel price is initially pegged at P14.52 per liter. Against the current price of diesel of about P35 per liter, the fuel cost of CNG is a huge bonanza for the bus operators—and the riding public.

With a stable supply of compressed natural gas from Shell’s mother station in Batangas to its Mamplasan refilling station in Laguna, the public can be assured of at least stable transportation fare along the initial designated routes, operators of the project say. The Oct. 24 launch of the fleet coincided with the opening of the first CNG refilling station in Mamplasan, Laguna by Pilipinas Shell. CNG is indigenous to the country, extracted from the Malampaya gas fields in offshore Palawan and transported via a pipeline to Batangas.

200 Hapi Buses, eventually
The Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power project is seen to benefit the economy because the country doesn’t have to import the fuel and use up its foreign currency reserves. To bring the benefits of lower priced natural clean fuel to the riding public, the government and the private transport sector jointly undertook the Natural Gas Vehicles Program for Public Transport (NGVPPT). Under the program, the Department of Energy has approved the importation of 200 CNG buses. To date, the DOE has accredited seven bus operators committed to operate 185 CNG buses by the end of this year.

Bullet-proof, fire-proof
Fuel storage for compressed natural gas in buses is bullet- and fire-proof, according to Charlie Lim, chair and CEO of Higer Motors Philippines Inc. The buses must pass safety transport standards before they are given a franchise by the Land Transportation Franchise and Regulation Board to ply their designated routes.

The government program on natural gas vehicles (NGV) gives incentives to participants in the form of income tax holidays as a pioneering project, zero rate of duty on imported NGV, industry-related equipment and component, and preferential franchises for natural gas vehicles on newly opened and existing routes.

Buses from China
CNG operators may also qualify for a financial package assistance from government financial institutions like the Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank and Eximbank. To fast-track the project, local transport companies have invested directly to import CNG buses from China.

The specially fitted buses are exclusively distributed in the Philippines by Higer Motors Philippines Inc. (HMPI), an affiliate company of Izuparts Center Inc. at Binan, Laguna. The CNG bus’ 6-cylinder turbo-charged engine runs quietly on natural gas. Operators of the project say that by the end of November, “Hapi Buses” will be a common sight on the Batangas/Laguna highway. For the riding public, it’s also a feel-good ride for clean environment.