CHEAP RUNNING

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20921, 28 September 1939, Page 11

CHEAP RUNNING

VEHICLES ON COAL GAS SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS (By Telegraph.—Press Association) HASTINGS, Wednesday Faced with the possibility of a petrol shortage, Government engineers have been experimenting with a bus driven by coal gas. The success of these experiments was apparent to a party which travelled in a converted bus in Hastings today. The gas is generated on board the vehicle under a new system giving greatly-increased efficiency. Petrol is used for starting, but after running for a short time coal gas is introduced in increasing volume until the engine runs on it entirely. On coal gas the engine has only about 80 per cent, of the power of petrol, but this allows adequate performance. Cheapness of running is the principal advantage, a bus of seven tons consuming only 21b a mile. This makes the running cost id a mile, compared with 3d a mile on benzine. It was stated to-day by an engineer that it would cost only Is 3d to run a converted light car 100 miles. In addition to the fuel cost there is a Government mileage tax of 3s per 100 miles.

The No. 2 District Licensing Authority, Mr J. P. Skoglund, at a passenger bus trial to-day, was most impressed with the performance. “It will be a wonderful saving for the country and a much cheaper form of power for operators,” he said. A gas-powered bus is to be put into operation on the Napier-Hastings run this week.