When compared with petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas (CNG) is the most economic transport fuel, believes CNG group sales and marketing manager Wayne Williams.

“On 26 September, natural gas was R7.10c cheaper than a litre of 95 octane petrol in Johannesburg,” he notes.

“In recent years, technology has improved significantly to allow for an increase in natural gas vehicles, particularly for fuel-intensive vehicle fleets, such as public transport and commercial vehicles.”

NGV Gas provides natural gas to commercial fleets, through a CNG distribution network of standalone and in-house fuelling stations in Gauteng, with a rollout to KwaZulu-Natal to follow soon.

NGV Gas is a division of CNG Holdings.

Natural gas is a clean burning transportation fuel, explains Williams.

“It is much cleaner than petrol and diesel, with up to 27% less harmful emissions compared with traditional fossil fuels.

“The cleaner fuel also significantly lowers vehicle maintenance and running costs, with less contamination and residue build-up across engine components.

“There is also less particulate matter that can contaminate the motor oil. This results in longer periods in between maintenance procedures, such as tune-ups and oil changes. As a result, owners of CNG-powered vehicles enjoy savings on maintenance costs.”

Natural gas is also safe, as it is lighter than air, adds Williams.

“In the event of an accident it dissipates into the air, instead of forming a dangerously flammable pool on the ground like other liquid fuels.”

Williams believes that natural gas vehicles could serve as a viable, economic alternative for large fleets of vehicles travelling many kilometres a day.

“Taxis, transit and school buses, airport shuttles, construction vehicles, garbage trucks, delivery vehicles, and public works vehicles are all well suited to natural gas fuelling.

“Because these vehicles are centrally maintained and fuelled, it is economical and beneficial to convert to natural gas.”

NGV Gas can put up an in-house filling station at a major fleet operation, with the client paying part of the installation costs, explains Williams. This is, however, dependent on volumes.

The cost to convert a traditional combustion engine vehicle to use natural gas is around R25 000 for petrol sedans and bakkies; R40 000 for diesel bakkies and light delivery vehicles and R150 000 for trucks and buses.

“We offer vehicle maintenance packages to all our clients,” says Williams.

“We currently have three workshops where maintenance can be done, namely Waltloo, in Pretoria, Crown Mines in Johannesburg, as well as in Vanderbijlpark.