SINGAPORE: Owners of private cars fitted with compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinders will be required to send their vehicles for inspection by Jun 9, announced the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Wednesday (May 24).
The cost of the inspection will be borne by LTA.
This is to safeguard public safety, said the authority, after two recent incidents which saw taxis with CNG cylinders catch fire.
All 980 CNG taxis in Singapore are already required to undergo mandatory testing by Thursday to be allowed on the roads. So far, 832 of those taxis have been checked, of which 74 failed the inspections and have been taken off the road for further investigation, said LTA.
It added that compulsory inspections are also being carried out on 13 buses – 12 public and one private – and seven goods vehicles.
“CNG taxis and public buses that have passed the mandatory inspections will continue to be subject to stringent checks and will have to undergo inspections every three months, in lieu of the current six-month inspection cycle,” said LTA.
According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), preliminary investigations showed that both the recent fires involving CNG taxis happened due to the leakage of compressed natural gas within the vehicles, which was then ignited by the lighting of cigarettes.
LTA reminded CNG vehicle owners not smoke in their vehicles, and to send them for inspection immediately if they detect any sulphur-like odour, similar to the smell of rotten eggs.
There are about 1,600 CNG cars in Singapore, according to statistics from LTA.
Owners will be sent inspection notices and they can send their vehicles to any of the nine Authorised Vehicle Inspection Centres.
(Table: LTA)
