Seoul Mandates 100% CNG Buses By 2010

14 September 2006

Korea Times. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will only allow CNG buses to operate in the city beginning in 2010. The mandate is intended to reduce pollution.

South Korea began a focused program to replace diesel-powered transit buses with CNG-fueled buses in 2000. Currently, 2,798 of Seoul’ s 7,766 registered city buses are CNG buses, and the rest are diesel-powered vehicles.

The city government will require operators to replace the remaining diesel buses with new CNG models by 2010. Under Korean transportation law, bus operators are prevented from using a vehicle for more than nine years.

The city government will invest 96.8 billion won (US$101 million) in support of the program, and will provide bus operators with 22.7 million won (US$23,700) in subsides for every CNG bus purchased. A CNG bus in Seoul costs about 94 million won per unit (US$98,000) compared to 67.7 million won (US$70,700) for a diesel bus. Daewoo and Hyundai both manufacture CNG buses for the local market.

Motor vehicle are the largest source of air pollutants in large South Korean cities. Although heavy-duty diesel buses and trucks represent only 4% of the total vehicles, it is estimated that they emit 47% of the total vehicular emission amount.

Vehicular air pollution in the Seoul metropolitan area, which accounted for 55% of total air pollution in 1991, rose to 85% in 1999. Urban bus emissions are considered the primary source of air pollution in Korean cities.

(A hat-tip to John Baldwin!)

Resources:

• Korea CNG Bus Program