The number of buses powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in Ho Chi Minh City is expected to reach 350 in 2015, according to the Transport Development and Strategy Institute under the Ministry of Transport.

Currently, there are 28 CNG buses that run from the city’s centre to its western and northeastern areas.

A CNG bus emits about 20 percent les carbon dioxide than fossil fueled buses, while fuel costs for CNG buses are 30-40 percent les than fossil-fuel powered buses.

The city has a total of about 3,000 buses that use an average of 30 million litres of petrol a year.

It plans to replace 1,680 old buses with new ones that meet environmental protection standards.

The CNG buses now in use were manufactured abroad but the city is currently making 30 buses of this type, which will be put into use next year.

However, there is a lack of CNG retail stations as well as tax and finance support policies for such buses, according to the institute.

The institute said it was developing CNG retail stations on a pilot basis in big cities. The stations would supply liquefied petroleum gas for taxis and motorbikes and compressed natural gas for buses.

Source: VNA