[sustran] fwd: MTC buses a major city pollutant

[SUSTRAN Resource Centre]

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This article is emailed to you by Akila Dinakar ( akiladinakar at hotmail.com )
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Source: The Hindu (http://www.the-hindu.com)

MTC buses, a major city pollutant

By Akila Dinakar

CHENNAI, JUNE 11. Many of MTC's operational fleet of 2800 buses 
could be polluting the city heavily which is in addition to the 
emissions spewed out by an rising number of private vehicles.

Handling 80 per cent of the trips made by city residents, the MTC 
buses run 40,000 trips in a day, catering to 40 lakh passenger 
trips. Yet, MTC buses are being blamed for pollution, as many of 
them leave a trail of thick smoke.

The smoke adds significantly to the Suspended Particulate Matter 
(SPM), which is the highest among the pollutants contained in 
automobile emissions. It is common for a motorist trailing behind 
an MTC bus to be spewed on the face with black smoke. Sometime 
ago, the pollution caused by poorly maintained MTC buses was 
raised by the Union Environment Minister Mr. T.R. Baalu at a 
meeting on pollution. 

Referring to a bus that entered Tiruvottiyur High Road from 
Ennore emitting noxious fumes, he asked why the MTC was not 
looking into its emissions. MTC consumes around 1.6 lakh litres 
of diesel per day. As the monopoly bus operator, it has a major 
share in the 1,425 tonnes of pollutants pumped by city's 
automobiles.

The emissions have particulate matter, Carbon Monoxide, 
Hydrocarbons, Oxides of Nitrogen and Sulphur. Though in real 
terms, the number of buses on city roads has been almost 
stagnant, the ageing fleet has been a cause for concern from the 
pollution standpoint.

While MTC field staff say that 250 buses were getting fitness 
certificates from Motor Vehicle Inspectors each month, three 
reasons are cited for the black smoke spewed by MTC buses - 
improper calibration of the fuel pump and atomiser causing 
incomplete combustion from excess fuel delivery into the 
combustion chamber, or an unclean exhaust pipe, bad vehicle 
maintenance and adulterated petrol.

Indian Oil Corporation, one of the main diesel suppliers to the 
18 MTC depots says that it supplies extra low sulphur diesel, 
conforming to refinery standards. But a gas chromatograph test 
conducted in 20 depots by Consumer Education Research, Teaching, 
Training and Testing (CONCERT), an NGO last year, revealed the 
presence of foreign bodies like kerosene, a major additive used 
to cut down diesel cost.

The Motor Vehicles Act calls for a check on automobile emissions, 
but the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) officials say 
the Board has no role to play in levying penalty on offenders. It 
only assists the Transport Department in conducting pollution 
checks.

A former MTC official says that finance has a major role to play 
in the inability for preventive maintenance of vehicles. The MTC 
has to inevitably confine itself to breakdown maintenance. Though 
the age for vehicles is fixed at eight years, the fleet is not 
young. With the World Bank opting out of the funding arrangement 
for new vehicles, lack of funds accounts for the delay in 
changing worn-out parts. ``Either the Government has to fund 
adequately or increase the fare. The latter is near-impossible 
with elections round the corner'', the official says. In Chennai, 
where 80 per cent of trips are made through on buses and 20 per 
cent by rail, unlike in Mumbai where the ratio is reversed, there 
is a need for more effective pollution checks by outside agencies 
rather than individual testing done in depots, passengers say. 

MTC's poor maintenance invites criticism of bus operations. 
Withdrawing such buses then poses problems for those who depend 
on them for mobility, says an analyst. 

Copyrights: 2000 The Hindu  & Tribeca Internet Initiatives Inc.
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Distributed for the purpose of education and research.

A. Rahman Paul BARTER
SUSTRAN Resource Centre
Information services for the Sustainable Transport Action Network
for Asia and the Pacific (the SUSTRAN Network)
sustran at po.jaring.my,  http://www.malaysiakini.com/sustran