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  Today Online 24 Apr 07
NEA, fleet owners educating drivers
Letter from TAN QUEE HONG Acting Director, Pollution Control Department National Environment Agency (NEA)

Today Online 11 Apr 07
Anti-pollution signage needed
Letter from Tan Siok Ha

Today Online 10 Apr 07
To find idle engines, go to any park or construction site
Letter from Ng Mau Wan

Today Online 6 Apr 07
Offence to leave car engine idling
Letter from tan quee hong Acting Director, Pollution Control Department, National Environment Agency

Straits Times 9 Apr 07
Cheap diesel fuel leads to waste and pollution
Letter from Malcolm Lower

DUTY on diesel fuel urgently needs to be increased. Diesel fuel is seriously under-priced. When something is under-priced it is under- valued and, consequently, misused or wasted.

I constantly see empty, unattended diesel-powered commercial vehicles left with their engines running. I visit a nearby petrol station almost every day to buy a newspaper. On every visit, I see at least one taxi left with its engine running. At shift-change time, it is not unusual to see five or six.

I walk past a large hotel and see a line of coaches, all empty, with their engines running. I have even seen an empty taxi being refuelled with its engine running - literally fuel in one end and out the other - regardless of the danger.

Diesel operators (or perhaps their drivers) do not seem to care about this appalling waste of precious fuel, and major taxi operators are complacent about the waste. To make matters worse, diesel retailers forever offer discounts on diesel, sometimes as high as 25 per cent, as if they too want to get rid of it.

Cheap diesel fuel should be reserved for public transport.

Taxi fares are clearly too high if operators can afford to waste fuel and add to pollution. If a taxi is left idling for just 20 minutes a day with its air-conditioner running, it will waste 10 to 20 litres per month. For Singapore's taxi fleet alone, this represents well in excess of 250,000 litres of diesel wasted every month.

And this is not mere waste: All this fuel is burnt off, producing a vast amount of carbon dioxide and other noxious pollutants, damaging our health and adding to global warming.

An alternative to increasing the price of diesel is to make it compulsory to fit a pressure switch on the driver's seat that switches off the engine automatically if the seat is unoccupied for more than 60 seconds.

The cost of this device would be recovered in a few months if measured in fuel alone and in minutes if we stop to think about the future.

Today Online 10 Apr 07
To find idle engines, go to any park or construction site
Letter from Ng Mau Wan

I refer to the letter, "Offence to keep car engine idling" (April 6) by Mr Tan Quee Hong, Acting Director, Pollution Control Dept, National Environment Agency (NEA).

If the NEA wishes to take enforcement action against vehicles with engines idling without good reason, it does not need readers like Mr Tan Siok Ha ("Idling and stifling", March 3) to call it.

The NEA only needs to go to construction sites during lunchtime. It will surely find the operators of excavators, cranes and piling equipment having their lunch or snoozing with their engines idling as they enjoy the air-conditioning. What are construction companies doing about this?

The NEA can also go to the public parking spaces of the various parks (Labrador Park and West Coast Park, just to name a couple) and it will find stationary lorries, vans and cars with their engines running.

What about private and tourist buses? They keep the engines running while waiting. Often, the drivers are not in the buses. If these buses need to be kept cool with air-conditioning, how about a smaller auxiliary engine that runs on petrol or gas, or better still, auxiliary batteries? The LTA should think about this.

The diesel engines on construction vehicles and buses produce more harmful gases than petrol-driven engines. Let us hope the NEA, construction companies and the LTA will proactively do something about this.

Today Online 6 Apr 07
Offence to leave car engine idling
Letter from tan quee hong Acting Director, Pollution Control Department, National Environment Agency

We refer to the letter, "Idling and stifling" (March 3) by Mr Tan Siok Ha.

It is an offence under the Environmental Pollution Control (Vehicular Emissions) Regulations to leave an engine idling unnecessarily when a vehicle is stationary for reasons other than traffic conditions.

Leaving the engine idling unnecessarily is an inconsiderate act that causes pollution and wastes fuel. Motorists should turn off their engines when their vehicles are stationary for a period of time.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) will take enforcement action against vehicles with idling engines without good reason.

We thank Mr Tan for his feedback. Mr Tan may wish to provide details on cases of idling vehicles through the NEA 24-hour Call Centre on 1800-CALL NEA (1800-2255 632) to facilitate our follow up enforcement action.

Today Online 11 Apr 07
Anti-pollution signage needed
Letter from Tan Siok Ha

I thank the National Environment Agency (NEA) for responding to my earlier letter ("Offence to keep car engine idling", April 6).

I would like to add that I have not noticed any signage in car parks asking motorists not to leave engines running. Most motorists park and leave their cars in the lots, but some do otherwise.

Perhaps the authorities and car park operators can put up signage and also highlight the penalties involved.

The NEA hotline number should also be displayed so that concerned people can lodge complaints.

To enforce this no-pollution ruling, the NEA should dispatch their officers on rounds to check car parks. This is to further drive home the message on pollution.

Popular places for these checks are vicinities of markets, schools, coffeeshops, MRT stations, pick-up areas etc. Just as open-fire burning is banned, motorists should likewise not be allowed to add pollutants and heat to the environment.

Today Online 24 Apr 07
NEA, fleet owners educating drivers
Letter from TAN QUEE HONG Acting Director, Pollution Control Department National Environment Agency (NEA)

WE REFER to the letters "To find idle engines, go to any park or construction site" (April 10) and "Anti-pollution signage needed" (April 11).

We thank Mr Ng Mau Wan for sharing his observations on the locations where vehicles with idling engines are found. We will certainly follow up on his feedback.

The NEA has been working and will continue to work with large vehicle-fleet owners, such as bus and taxi companies and the National Association of Travel Agents of Singapore, to educate drivers on the need to turn off their vehicle engines when they are waiting for passengers or having their meals.

As for the parks, there are signs at car parks of public parks such as the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Mt Faber and Labrador Park to inform drivers not to leave their engines idling.

The National Parks Board's rangers will also advise motorists to turn off their engines when they wait at car parks.

We would like to take this opportunity to remind drivers to be considerate and not to leave their engines running unnecessarily.
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