With Mahanagar Gas Limited ready to supply CNG to an additional 30,000 aggregator cabs, queues are going to get longer
The decision of the state government to have aggregator cabs like Ola and Uber run on 'clean fuel' or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is going to be an additional hassle for the rickshaw and taxi trade as well as the fuel dispensing mechanism of Mumbai. The rickshaw and taxi trade, which converted to CNG over a decade ago, have been complaining that the time taken to fill their gas tanks is already getting worrisome and addition of about 30, 000 aggregator cabs — that too with higher engine capacities — will just add to the woes.
Thampi Kurien of Mumbai Rickshawmen's Union said, "On most days, there is a problem with the pressure at which gas is dispensed at the fuel stations. This leads to long queues of rickshaws, leading to loss of time for drivers and obstruction on roads. The entry of these new taxis will create even bigger problems."
Ravi Shinde of the Fuel Pump Owners Association said the onus of having more CNG dispensing kiosk lies on Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL), Mumbai's sole CNG supplier. "There are several fuel pumps which have the requisite infrastructure to increase dispensing points. That should be looked into and upgraded so that there is no problem when the number of CNG clients increase," said Shinde.
In reply to a query on the preparedness of MGL, the firm told DNA that it is ready. On whether the CNG dispensing infrastructure in Mumbai and nearby areas was geared up to provide service to this new set of customers, MGL stated that it has 197 CNG stations with over 1,000 dispensing points to cater to twice the number of vehicles currently running on CNG. The firm said that there are more than 8 CNG stations under construction at strategic locations. There is also a plan to add 20 CNG stations in the next financial year, MGL said.
"At present the CNG stations are strategically located from Churchgate to Bhayander on the western line, upto Panvel on the harbour line and Badlapur on the central line. The zone wise linear average distance between CNG stations on western line is 1.52 km, on Central it is 1.47 km, in Navi Mumbai 3.2 km and Kalyan-Dombivli area 4.5 km," the firm replied.
MGL agreed that there is a rise in the number of private CNG vehicles on the roads of Mumbai. "There is a constant increase in the number of vehicles plying on CNG in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). In last few years CNG powered vehicles have grown at a Compounded Average Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 70 per cent given the fuel economics and eco-friendly nature of CNG. Currently over 5 lakh vehicles are plying on CNG in MMR and nearby areas. In the past 4 years, the population of private cars running on CNG has increased from 61,000 to 2.3 Lakh as upto January 2017," said MGL in a statement.
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