• Says these cars mean huge pollution, congestion and health costs
• Advocates key policy modifications before they can be allowed to run

New Delhi, October 3, 2007: Ultra low-cost small cars -- such as the much-hyped models being planned by the Tatas and other carmakers -- can mean big trouble for India, unless the country makes drastic policy changes. A new study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) says the influx of these cars would drive public transport and two-wheelers off the roads and greatly increase urban congestion and pollution.

The study, whose key findings have appeared in the latest issue of science and environment fortnightly Down To Earth, reveals that the industry and the government plan to introduce these cars without ensuring sufficiently stringent emission or safety standards for them. “Moreover”, says the study’s initiator Anumita Roychowdhury, coordinator of CSE’s Right to Clean Air campaign, “even though these small cars are expected to be more fuel-efficient than bigger cars and SUVs, their sheer numbers will undercut the fuel savings possible from the more fuel-efficient two-wheelers and the energy sufficiency possible from public transport.”

Huge air pollution overload
Be prepared to get choked once these ultra low-cost cars come on the scene, warns the study. These cars will roll out much before the Euro IV (Bharat IV) emissions standards are in place. In most cities, which will have a booming market for these cars, the vehicles will only meet the existing -- and grossly outdated -- Bharat stage II emissions standards. These standards are already 10 years behind the European technology which is being manufactured and sold by all carmakers in India. What’s more, the major cities that have implemented Euro III (Bharat stage III) standards are still five years behind Europe.

The impact of this policy failure? Spiralling air pollution, of course. This, say the writers of the study, is completely unacceptable when nearly 57 per cent of Indian cities that are monitored for air pollution already show critical levels of deadly particulates. Cities like Kolkata and Howrah (ironically, in the hinterland of the first small car project) have the distinction of being the nitrogen dioxide and PM hotspots of the country. Stringent vehicle emissions standards are, thus, urgently needed before these cars are allowed onto the roads.

Deadly diesel fumes
The CSE study also suggests that the government must remain on guard against permitting these cars to run on diesel. Current emissions standards in India allow diesel cars to emit very high levels of particulates and three times more nitrogen oxides (NOx) than petrol cars. And diesel emissions are several times more toxic. In fact, the Delhi High Court has already raised questions on the expansion of the diesel car fleet in the capital -- a phenomenon that is negating the benefits of switching public transport to CNG. Cheap cars, run on low-cost poor quality fuel, can be a fatal attraction for low- to middle-income groups.

Use of diesel in personal cars is also a misuse of the official policy of keeping taxes on diesel low for agricultural and freight use. The study, therefore, recommends that without clean diesel (sulphur content as low as 10 ppm used with advanced particulate traps) and a much less price difference between diesel and petrol, diesel cars should not be allowed to proliferate.

Cheap, but unsafe
The study comes up with another shocking truth: India, it says, does not yet legally mandate some key safety standards. These include the full crash test that determines how the car crumples at the time of collision to minimise harm to riders, and impact-absorbing features like air bags, anti-lock braking systems etc. Moreover, carmakers do not think it necessary to inform Indian buyers about the safety status of cars, as is done in Europe.

The cars, naturally, will have to be upgraded to meet these safety requirements -- which might mean that it will be difficult to keep the prices low.


Stranded
The study’s researchers draw up another frightening scenario, where more such cars mean -- instead of greater mobility -- massive, unmanageable jams. Already, crawling traffic is the most visible sign of congestion in big and small cities. In Delhi, average vehicular speed has dropped from 20-27 km per hour in 1997 to 15 km per hour in 2002. In Kolkata, the average speed ranges between 15-20 km per hour and falls to 7 km per hour. Building more roads cannot help – for every 10 per cent increase in road capacity, there is a resultant 9 per cent increase in traffic.

A CSE missive based on the findings of the study, that has been sent to regulators and the industry, states: “We need to address the issues of numbers of vehicles on the roads. While we are not advocating bans, we are certainly pushing for policy and fiscal correction so that the ownership of cars reflects the economic, environmental and health costs of driving in our cities.”

In fact, the researchers point out, existing public policy does not even aim to recover the full cost of owning and using a car. It overtly subsidises the use of a private vehicle with public largess. For instance, a car does not have to pay the cost of using urban (public) space for parking or for using publicly constructed roads or flyovers. Road taxation in the country is so skewed that public transport is taxed higher than individual vehicles. A 2004 World Bank study shows that the total tax burden per vehicle km is 2.3 times higher for public transport buses than cars in Indian cities. Despite this, the personal vehicles industry is consistently clamouring for further reduction in taxes to improve affordability.

Better policies needed
The study is not advocating a ban on small cars; it is only proving that in the current policy and regulatory framework, introduction of ultra-cheap small cars will be disastrous. The study’s researchers have demanded that the introduction of the low-cost small car be put on hold or made simultaneous with the following policy corrections:

• Introduction of the next stage of emissions standards (equivalent of Euro IV)
  
• Prohibition on using diesel fuel in the personalised vehicle segment until the price difference on petrol and diesel is eliminated or narrowed significantly
• Enforcement of key safety regulations
• Introduction of a range of fiscal policies to correct distortions, including policies to force car owners to pay the full cost of using a car by revising road taxation and directions for compulsory introduction of parking charges based on real estate costs. These must also include the lowering of taxes for mass transit vehicles like buses.
  
  
  For more details, please call Anumita Roychowdhury on 9811793923
  or write to her at anumita@cseindia.org