Emergency services hit by fuel prices rises

St John needs its ambulances to be a certain size to enable effective treatment. Photo / Hamilton This Week

Emergency services say they are feeling the pinch from fuel price rises.

The country’s largest ambulance service, St John, runs 551 ambulances which travel more than 14.5 million kilometres a year.

St John chief operations officer Keven Tate said the organisation’s fuel costs had increased significantly over the past two years.

Fuel expenditure for the year ended June 30, 2007, was $2.6 million – up from $2.3 million budgeted for the year ended June 30, 2005. Fuel costs have jumped significantly again since mid-2007.

Mr Tate said St John had moved from petrol-fuelled ambulances to diesel ambulances, and for other operational vehicles had gone for smaller and more fuel efficient engines.

However, unlike many organisations, St John was limited in its ability to adjust its travel to save on fuel costs.

“Our first duty is to respond to emergency incidents and provide clinical care and transport,” Mr Tate said.

“We need our ambulances to be a certain size to enable effective treatment and transport of patients; we need to attend all emergencies requiring clinical care; and we are often required to travel faster than normal road speeds with lights and sirens … when patients’ conditions are life-threatening, to ensure optimal care.”

Mr Tate said the service relied on a range of funding sources to pay for ambulance services, including crown funding agencies, district health boards, contributions from commercial activities, such as first aid training courses and community support.

Ross Cameron, marketing manager for Wellington Free Ambulance, said the organisation was in the process of changing its fleet from gas-guzzling “but lovely” petrol-powered V8 Chevrolet ambulances to diesel-powered Mercedes Benz ambulances.

The Chevrolet was a “beautiful ambulance,” but the organisation could simply not afford to run the V8 engines.

The organisation began replacing its 22-strong fleet about two years ago, and had “really stepped it up” this year.

About half the fleet had been upgraded, and Mr Cameron said by this time next year the organisation would be well on the way to having completely replaced the vehicles.

At $160,000 an ambulance, it was not a cheap exchange.

The decommissioned ambulances were being sold off to the odd Chevrolet enthusiast but were not worth a huge amount, he said.

However, the organisation was already saving a lot at the pump, after budgeting for high petrol prices and instead paying for lower-cost diesel.

A Fire Service spokeswoman said the department had no option but to simply budget more each year for fuel costs.

The service had a fleet of around 800 appliances, which were diesel-fuelled. The cost of running the vehicles was budgeted at $2.21 million for the 2007/08 year.

She said although fuel costs obviously affected the organisation’s budget, they did not impact on service, which was not compromised in any way.

Police spokesman Jon Neilson said the department had a “small amount of discretion” to reprioritise certain items of about $1.3 billion of operating expenditure.

There was also a modest budget reserve to help address issues such as rapidly rising fuel costs.

But Mr Neilson said if fuel prices continued to rise police may look to seek additional government funding.

- NZPA

Green Taxis for London

Plans have been announced that will lead to zero-emissions taxis serving London by 2012.

A collaboration led by hydrogen fuel cell developer, Intelligent Energy, and including Lotus Engineering, London Taxis International (LTI) and TRW Conekt, will see a fleet of London cabs fitted out with zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell power systems.

The programme is part of the Government’s Technology Strategy Board recent allocation of funding of £23 million for 16 low carbon vehicle development programmes.

The taxis will able to operate for a full day without refuelling.

They will be capable of achieving speeds of up to 75mph.

The vehicles will top up their hydrogen tanks at central depots.

“Fuel cell vehicles offer considerable well-to-wheel emissions savings, and produce no pollution at the tail-pipe,” said chief executive officer at Intelligent Energy, Henri Winand.

“This project is central to our plans to supply zero emissions power systems to the automotive market.”

Source:  Fleet News UK
 

Petrol nudging $2 a litre

The price of 91 petrol is just three cents away from the $2 mark for most New Zealanders.

The cost of a litre of 91 rose to $1.97 on Tuesday, 95 octane is just over $2 a litre in the main centres, and diesel is at $1.67 a litre.

The price of the raw product, crude oil, has risen six-fold since 2002 and has doubled since last year.

But the Organisation of the Petrol Exporting Countries (OPEC) says contrary to popular belief, the oil market is well supplied and it will not increase output.

The oil producing cartel is instead blaming the continuing rise in international oil prices on speculators, a weak dollar and geopolitical problems.
 
But are these factors the reason?

Westpac analyst Richard Franulovich agrees that oil price speculators are affecting prices, but says he would not lay all the blame at their door.

“There are lots of commodities across the globe that’ve seen as big if not bigger increases in prices, yet there is no participation from speculators,” says Franulovich.

“A good example of that would be dairy prices, a commodity that is very important for New Zealand. There is no futures market…yet dairy prices have seen a very tremendous increase in recent years.”

Energry consultant Ian Twomey agrees.

“There’s been a number of studies done and all of them have shown that the underlying price still changes. Speculators will force it up quicker and down quicker, but they don’t really impact the underlying price,” he says.

As for the weak dollar, Twomey says that it has some impact but it has been strengthening against other currencies over the last month and the oil price has not come down.

Twomey says what needs to be taken into account is the demand for the product. He says there is enough petrol and fuel oil and the real demand is for diesel and jet fuel.

They are commanding prices $30-$40 higher than crude oil and it is the demand for these products that is pulling the price of oil.

“There is enough crude oil. What there is a shortage of is the processing into diesel and jet fuel,” he says.

However, Twomey says crude oil supply is relatively tight and the market is looking for any excuses to pull the market up.

“The price is telling us that the way we’re using the commodity we’ve got to use it more carefully,” he says.

Whether petrol prices will drop as the demand declines remains to be seen.  In many countries the cost of fuel is subsidised so they do not feel the high prices as countries like New Zealand do.

Twomey says that 12 months from now a litre of 91 could easily cost up to $2.50.

Source: ONE News

Taxi driver threatened at knifepoint

The drama that culminated in the arrest of the 19-year-old man was played on the side of the Hutt Motorway at 1.40am.

Police said the man who had been picked outside Wellington’s Marksman Motel threatened the taxi driver with a knife and demanded money during the journey.

The taxi driver pulled over just south of the Melling lights on the Hutt motorway.

The attacker absconded across the motorway into the Hutt Valley but was tracked down an hour later after a tip from an alert member of the public.

Police said they would like to hear from anyone who may have witnessed any part of the incident.

- NZPA 8:53AM Tuesday May 20, 2008

2010 Football World Cup

By Lucy Payne of The Telegraph, UK, reports:”When Brits hear the words “black taxi”, most probably think of London’s black cabs plying their trade. In South Africa, “black taxi” has an entirely different meaning.

‘Black taxi’ here usually means a minibus. These could seat 16 people legally, comfortably and safely – but mostly these vehicles pack between 20 and 25 inside. The black taxi trade started a number of years ago and took the place of trains and buses running from the residential townships into major cities and work areas. At the time, shootings and intimidation forced passengers to use taxis instead of other forms of transport and the violence was seen by many as instigated by taxi owners.

In theory, it’s a great system. For a set price you get on and off wherever you want. The taxis go to many different areas and a complex series of hand signals exist to indicate where you, the potential passenger, wants to go; you simply stand at the side of the road and wait for a taxi to come along.

In practice (these) taxis are a time bomb. They are notorious for stopping anywhere they want, sometimes with hazard warning lights on, other times not. But they stop, whether it be on the side of the freeway, in the middle of a main road or a side street, no matter what the risk. They are literally a law unto themselves. They rarely indicate or signal intent; they jump robots (traffic lights), go over solid white lines and get aggressive if you toot or hint that you are unhappy with their style of driving.

Most taxis are badly maintained that is, if they are maintained at all. The police occasionally impound unsafe taxis but sadly most of these find their way back on to the streets again. It is not uncommon for a taxi to have no brakes or shock-absorbers and sometimes the steering wheel is missing (yes, it’s been known; a monkey wrench is used in its place). Bald tyres, usually retreads and unevenly matched, are the norm. There are reported cases of a taxi having four different types of tyre and wheels fitted. Vehicles are rarely serviced and sometimes held together with bits of string or wire; they are literally falling apart.

The taxi industry is run by various self-serving interests and unfortunately they appear always to be at loggerheads. The government recently announced a “recapitalisation plan” with an eye on the 2010 football World Cup; the idea is that every taxi owner will be given R50,000 (about £3,500) for his decrepit taxi which he may use to buy a new vehicle.

All the current problems will continue to exist. Old taxis are unlikely to be finally scrapped so they’ll be back out on the roads in no time as deposits for another government handout! Even worse, the taxi associations are threatening to cause havoc on the roads (as if they don’t anyway) because they want to be given R100,000 not the R50,000 on offer.

Why anybody should be given anything for nothing (or for a R5,000 heap of scrap) has not been explained to me by anyone, especially as only two per cent of taxi owners actually pay tax.

Unfortunately the taxi owners’ associations intimidate the government: death threats are common, both to ministers and the police, and so far the authorities have not stood up to them. It will be interesting to see if they do so over recapitalisation.

The majority of taxi drivers are employed by the vehicle’s owner and earn commission. Therefore the more passengers and journeys each day, the more money made. In a country where half the driving licences are fraudulent, many taxi drivers are untrained in dealing with a heavily-laden passenger vehicle, especially one that’s badly maintained.

The majority of the population has no choice but to use taxis to get to and from work as there is no other competitive transport. Every time they do so they put their lives at risk.

Many vehicles are not registered; each owner has to, by law, put his name and address on the taxi door. But in most cases the addresses are ridiculously false -”10 Downing Street, Jo’burg” and suchlike – so there is no comeback on the owner. Whenever you see a taxi with a sun awning or bike carrier attached it’s a sure giveaway that the vehicle was originally stolen for its profitable potential.

The South African taxi industry could be a very efficient transport system, a world example in fact, if only common sense was applied. Drivers need to learn realistic driving skills so that they drive their passenger vehicle responsibly. Ensuring taxis are well maintained, regularly serviced and undergo strict, more regular checks will improve their shelf life and income. Road deaths would decrease dramatically. If these things were put into place, I for one would willingly use the taxis as they are a fantastic service and a handy “immediate” form of transport. The many under-filled cars on the roads, a necessity to avoid the suicide mission of using taxis, are not exactly helping the planet environmentally!

A downside of living in beautiful, sunny South Africa is having to always watch out for “black taxis” – driving here is certainly not for the faint hearted.

If you are planning to come for the 2010 World Cup then the best thing for you to do is book your hire car now, and start studying defensive driving techniques!

UK Telegraph

Sir Paul McCartney sees green over car delivery.

It must be nice to be Sir Paul McCartney. Lexus offered to give the über-famous Beatles front-man a brand new car. He settled on an LS600H, the hybrid flagship of the Lexus brand. According to a source familiar with the matter, Paul “ordered the hybrid limo because it helps to reduce emissions.” Those emissions took a giant leap forward before Sir Paul even got behind the wheel, as the vehicle was delivered by plane. The estimated carbon footprint of the trip comes to 38,050kg, which, for perspective, is ten times what it would have been if the Lexus had been delivered by boat. Put another way, according to Co2balance.com Director Mike Rigby, “That is the equivalent of driving the car around the world six times.” Even the air freight shipping company was surprised, with a spokesman quoted as saying, “Obviously we were happy for the business but everyone was shocked. The carbon footprint must be enormous.” McCartney is reportedly rather unhappy about the chosen method for delivery.

Gadget Guy- Green Cabs on TV3

http://www.tv3.co.nz/VideoBrowseAll/SunriseVideo/tabid/572/articleID/55418/cat/167/Default.aspx

BP fuel up 5c, others tipped to follow

Petrol and diesel prices soared 5c a litre at BP pumps yesterday, leaving the other oil companies to review their charges this morning.

BP raised its 91-octane petrol to 193.9c a litre and its “boutique” 98-octane fuel to a supercharged 207.9c.

Its diesel price rose to 161.9c before Government road-user charges.

The other three main oil companies had not moved by last night, but industry minnow Gull Petroleum said it would not be surprised if they followed BP today.

Gull general manager Dave Bodger said he had to lift his prices 2c a litre yesterday morning to match those of the big players – 188.9c for 91-octane and 156.9c for diesel.

His company’s biofuel-blended 98-octane petrol now costs 198.9c.

Mr Bodger noted the New Zealand dollar’s fall in value yesterday to a three-month low of US76.52c made it more expensive to import refined fuel.

The increases came as a survey showed that nearly one in five New Zealanders wouldn’t change their driving habits even if petrol went above $5 a litre.But for a quarter of New Zealanders, petrol prices breaking the $2-a-litre barrier will trigger a significant cut in fuel use, and if 91 octane goes on to reach $3 a litre, 68 per cent would make significant cutbacks.

The results come from a ShapeNZ poll, released by the Business Council for Sustainable Development.

It showed New Zealanders were bracing for fuel price rises over the next two years, with 91 per cent expecting them to go up. Just 4 per cent say they will stay the same and 3 per cent expect them to fall.

Some were already feeling the pinch, with 21 per cent saying a price of between $1.40 and $1.90 a litre was enough for them to reduce fuel use.

The $2 mark was the tipping point for 23 per cent and 51 per cent said $2.20 was where they would be affected enough to change their behaviour.

For 19 per cent, price would not matter, even if it hit $5 a litre.

But it is unclear what steps people will take to cut fuel use – 62 per cent said they had no public transport alternative for the journey they made most often.

Automobile Association spokesman Mark Stockdale said as prices rose people would look at “intelligent use” of their vehicles.

The ShapeNZ survey showed 49 per cent of people mainly used vehicles consuming 10 litres of fuel per 100km.

Mr Stockdale said it was also possible more service stations would shift to systems such as “prepay”, if the high prices led to more petrol thefts.

That could affect elderly and disabled motorists.

By Mathew Dearnaleyand NZPA

Green Cabs head south with hybrid cars

Christchurch’s traditional ranks of white taxis have received a dose of environmentally friendly green with the arrival of a new competitor.
Green Cabs uses only hybrid vehicles that operate on battery- powered electricity and petrol. The young company also offsets any carbon emissions it produces by planting trees in Third World countries.
Green Cabs launched in Christchurch recently and has eight cars on the road, but that number would gradually increase to 50 in the next two years, Christchurch area manager Will Owen said.
The company is the brainchild of Wellington man Callum Brown, who owns Green Cabs with his partner Eva Romanowska.
Mr Brown, a former IT worker, used to be a climate change sceptic but changed his tune after watching Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth.
Mr Brown recognised a gap in the market for an eco-friendly cab company and decided to leave his 10-year career to start it up.
Green Cabs has 30 cars in both Auckland and Wellington and is planning on having between 150 and 200 cars throughout New Zealand in the next year.

TINA LAW – The Press Saturday, 10 May 2008

Wellington Combined Taxi’s New Vehicle Fleet

Wellington’s largest Taxi fleet has announced to its operators details of their new vehicle fleet policy.

The policy announcement effective 1 June 2008 outlines new guidelines of vehicles permitted to enter their fleet. Vehicles permitted to enter the fleet (under new guidelines) are Toyota Prius Hybrid; Hyundai Sonata Diesel; Ford Mondeo Diesel; Hyundai Grandeur Diesel; Ford Falcon LPG dedicated.

Shareholders and Lessees are urged to attend a “very important” WCT Eco/ Vehicle policy meeting on 13th May 2008, part of the discussion will include a debate on the merits of increasing their fare scheldule.

Nobody was available for comment at the time of writing.