(Auto)gas on London's streets!(?)

© Reading TaxisA British cab doesn't have to be black, nor do its exhaust fumes

Nothing is more than a proposal yet, but if mayor Johnson's plans come to fruition, a grant of between 1000-2000 pounds may be offered to anyone willing to scrap their old, polluting diesel and buy something cleaner instead. And this is exactly where autogas steps in. or may step in if educational and promotional work is done to persuade drivers to choose LPG once their dirty oil-burners are gone.

Luckily, the British LPG industry is well aware of how much there is to gain and keeps reminding the mayor and his administration that it would be a major overlook not to grasp the opportunity or encouraging motorists to switch to autogas. Arguably, the fuel is abundant, commonly available, affordable and much greener than conventional fuels, particularly diesel (pun intended).

A number of Asian cities (e. g. Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo) understood the potential of autogas long ago and converted their taxi fleets to run on that fuel. As a matter of fact, this isn't unprecedented in the UK, either – 80 taxis in Birmingham have been recently converted to run on LPG. Hopefully London will follow soon and not just with taxis, but with all sorts of passenger cars. And then maybe with buses, too, as they can be converted to dual-fuel diesel/LPG power. We'll keep our fingers crossed.