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by Lionel Wijesiri

From September this year, Bangladesh banned three-wheelers with two-stroke engines from the streets of the capital Dhaka. The familiar black and yellow coloured three-wheelers - fitted with two-stroke engines and fuelled by petrol, were held to be the main cause of Dhaka's alarmingly high level of air pollution.

They are being replaced with imported four-stroke-engine models from India and Thailand. Environmental groups and most residents of Dhaka welcomed the move, with only the three-wheeler drivers and owners affected protesting against it.

In 1996 in Kathmandu, Nepal a development project was initiated by USAID to put a small fleet of battery powered Tempo three-wheelers into the city.

These became known as Safa Tempos. The vehicles have been well received and the project has found private investment as well as good support from both the local and national government.

Since that time the fleet has grown to thousands of vehicles and they have begun to make a very real impact in reducing the air and noise pollution in Kathmandu, which is both a thriving capital city and an environmentally critical tourist centre.

Today, in Nepal it has been seen that passengers prefer to travel in the Safa Tempos. They claim the major benefits are a smoother and quieter ride without the hazard of the exhaust fumes penetrating into the largely open passenger compartment of the vehicle.

Catalytic converter

In August this year, the Supreme Court in India decided to freeze the population of three-wheelers in Delhi by banning the fresh registration of two-stroke three-wheel scooter rickshaws.

The order by Chief Justice stated that it would be in the interest of the environment to freeze the number of three wheelers.

Therefore on the basis of that the court ordered that no fresh permits with respect to two stroke three wheelers be granted.

Meanwhile, a catalytic converter for three wheelers with two-stroke engines was developed last year in India by the state-owned Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

Elaborating on the merits of the new catalytic converters, Director of Research and Development in the Indian Oil, said this innovation would help reduce emission of more than 50 per cent carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon in Delhi. The technology had a definite edge over the imported technology for the device used for passenger vehicles in the country, he added.

To meet the huge anticipated demand, Indian Oil and ACC had set up a semi-commercial plant for producing up to half-a-million catalytic converters in the first phase. The capacity would be increased depending on demand for the device. Indian Government made it mandatory all three-wheelers to be sold with converters.

Ban or not

Is there anything we could learn from our neighbours? The roaming of an estimated 110,000 three-wheelers is considered to be one of the main sources of air and noise pollution in our own major cities. These small two-stroke cabs sprinkle hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, lead, unburnt lubricating oil, etc. in the streets and roads every day.

It is now found that these emissions could cause diseases like hypertension, nervous problems, throat and eye infections, cancer and heart ailment. While everybody agrees that the three-wheelers are a major source of pollution in the city, what have we done to minimise or prevent it?

The three-wheeler was a success in our country for a very simple reason.

It provided one with the fundamental convenience of a taxi at lower cost and was accessible everywhere. That it was highly polluting was totally ignored, as the all-important subject of environment till very recently figured very low on the priority of planners in Sri Lanka.

Should we ban two stroke three wheelers from our city roads? Many citizens would say that such a move is a good one. The number of three-wheelers had substantially increased over the years, resulting in increase in emissions level and it is high time to control increasing pollution.

With over one hundred thousand population of three-wheelers in the country, it is not feasible to ban them from the roads overnight. Most important of all, the three-wheeler driver's livelihood had to be considered. If that were the logic, then by banning three-wheelers within cities, we are depriving many of the chance of earning a livelihood.

The plan to replace existing two-stroke engines with 4 strokes should be a long-term programme and done phase-wise.

Many countries like India, Thailand and China have started manufacturing four stroke three-wheelers, which generate less air and noise pollution.

Electric three-wheeler

For example, An Indian company at the beginning of this year has turned to hybrid-electric drive technology to make help cut down on air pollution by creating a three-wheeler that more closely matches the needs of congested Asian streets.

The heart of the hybrid-drive is a 8 hp, four-stroke internal combustion engine. The electrical system consists of a 1 kw DC motor operating in parallel mode with the engine. The vehicle operates as a battery EV up to 10 Km/h speed when the engine cuts in and takes over.

The motor then act as a generator and charges three maintenance free 12V batteries. At higher speeds or gradients, the system acts in a power assist mode.

During braking and coasting energy is recovered in a regenerative mode, which is shut off if the batteries reach full charge.

The top speed of the vehicle with power assist is about 65 Km/h, which is a practical speed for Asian cities. The control system works in conjunction with a human interface, which operates the pedal systems.

The system is configured for operation in crowded Asian cities; characterized by frequent stops, traffic movement in stop-go mode with extensive braking and occasional clear stretches of road. Such conditions are tailor-made for hybrid electric vehicles.

While it is true to say the IC engine vehicles make up the majority of vehicles in Sri Lanka today, there are a number of niche applications where battery powered vehicles dominate.

This occurs only when there is an economic, operational and environmental benefit. Current examples include Golf Carts; Materials Handling Equipment in warehouses and airports etc.

The unique combination in our country today of congested streets with slow moving traffic, imported fuel and desperate air pollution is an ever-deteriorating spiral.

Urgent measures are necessary to reverse the situation and one answer may be the introduction of low cost, battery electric three-wheelers.

There are today very distinct operational and environmental benefits and the economics can be improved by the positive intervention of government together with the establishment of a critical market size, which will enable importers and manufacturers to reduce costs.

Another view

There is another point of view regarding two-stroke engines worth consideration. It must also not be forgotten that three-wheelers have their own advantages. They consume less fuel than cars. They are cheaper to buy and cheaper to maintain.

Two years ago, Bangladesh conducted a comprehensive training programme for the three-wheeler mechanics. This was done with funding from the World Bank, UNDP, and 15 public and private donors, During the training sessions, Masami Kojima, a petrochemical expert with the World Bank said, "Two-stroke engine vehicles need not cause so much pollution, as international experience shows.

This is why industrialized countries have not banned two-stroke engine vehicles.

Japan, for example, has a large population of two-stroke engine vehicles, but they do not smoke as seen in Dhaka, because they maintain their vehicles regularly and use correct quantity and quality of lubricant oils.

It is the failure to follow these two practices in Bangladesh that is responsible for unacceptably high levels of smoke emissions from three-wheeler taxis".

"The economic cost of health damage caused by emissions from three-wheelers has been calculated to roughly about $12 million a year in Bangladesh alone. Good inspection and maintenance practice can help address the problem by reducing emissions by up to 35 percent.

Another mitigation measure, which need not cost any, more to drivers is the use of the correct amount of lubricant designed for two-stroke engines. Currently three-wheelers use four-stroke engine oil with their petrol. By using quality two-stroke engine oil, they could even save money and at the same time reduce emissions significantly. Mechanics and three-wheeler drivers are also advised not to buy petrol from the open market. Such petrol could be adulterated by kerosene, causes more smoke, and damages to engines".

Trained mechanics

A workshop of such nature, if conducted in our own country, will offer training to our own three-wheeler taxi drivers on proper maintenance and use of lubricant oil, and other ways to reduce emissions and improve safety. This could be done immediately pending the implementation of the phase out programme of two-stroke engines.

The importance of having well trained and informed three-wheeler mechanics cannot be over-emphasized. Regular servicing and repair of vehicles are critical to curbing air pollution from vehicles, and the mechanics are the "gurus" to whom three-wheeler drivers turn for advice on how to operate and maintain their vehicles.

The mechanics are therefore in an excellent position to convince three-wheeler taxi drivers to follow good maintenance and lube oil practice, and point out that they can be part of the solution instead of contributing to the problem.In the end, however, what is really needed is a wholesome plan of action regarding the vehicular population of the country.

The government must launch a programme to drive out all unfit vehicles including lorries, vans, trucks, cars and three wheelers from the major cities if they want a substantial improvement in the quality of the ambient urban air.

Which also brings us to the quality of the buses plying in the cities. Otherwise any move to ban two-stroke three wheelers alone will have no substantial effect upon the environment.

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