Mexico City’s Trucks, Buses Must Convert to Clean Fuel

The owners of the half-million or so cargo trucks, buses and taxis that are estimated to cause 40% of the air pollution in this contaminated city have four years to convert their engines to burn alternative fuels or to buy new vehicles with catalytic converters under an agreement announced Tuesday by President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

The Mexican plan would impose a considerably more rapid conversion schedule than one recently announced by the Southern California Air Quality Management District.

The Los Angeles plan calls for about one-third of the trucks and 70% of the buses to run on alternative fuels by 2010.

But Mexico City’s situation is more urgent, officials here noted.

Speaking of the trucks, buses and taxis that clog the streets here, Fernando Menendez, technical adviser to the Mexico City Metropolitan Commission on Environmental Pollution, said, “These vehicles are generally obsolete and consume the greatest quantities of gasoline and, therefore, generate the most pollution.”

Salinas made the announcement one hour after the air pollution in Mexico City reached smog alert levels, requiring key polluting industries to decrease production.

The vehicle conversion measure--which will be enforced when motorists renew their registrations--is the latest in a series of steps that the city and federal government in Mexico have undertaken to try to control pollution in this metropolitan area of 18 million, which is ringed by mountains that trap dirty air during thermal inversions.

The Mexican government has already reduced the lead content of gasoline, placed catalytic converters on city buses and required motorists to leave their cars at home one day a week in an effort to reduce air pollution here, which is especially acute in winter.

The conversion to alternative fuels was proposed by a joint commission of local and federal government officials, environmental activists and industry representatives charged with finding ways to control pollution in the city.

The plan announced on Tuesday anticipates that owners of only half the 299,000 vehicles--two-thirds of the fleet--eligible to switch to alternative fuels will do so; the other third of the fleet would be replaced. Conversions can cost as much as $6,500.

Petroleos Mexicanos, the petroleum monopoly, will triple the supply of liquid petroleum gas by the end of this year, providing enough to fuel 135,000 vehicles, said Francisco Rojas, director of the government-owned company.

Current supplies of natural gas are enough to power another 45,000, he said. That will cover less than half the demand, if all the vehicle owners decide to convert their engines rather than buy new vehicles.

“If we have to import fuel, we will,” said a government spokeswoman.

Homero Ardjis, an outspoken environmentalist who is a member of the city commission, called the conversion measures “a step in the right direction.”

The commission will announce measures for industry next month and for private passenger cars in March.

Besides the conversions, owners of trucks and buses more than 16 years old and taxis more than eight years old must trade in their vehicles. Government-backed loans will be offered to owners for engine retrofits and new car purchases.

Less than 3% of the fleet now has catalytic converters, and barely 1% uses alternative fuels. But nine companies already run natural-gas-fueled fleets, and 25 more have applied for permission to do so, according to the commission.

Many of the vehicles that would be affected by the new regulations now are owned by individuals, including the proprietor-driver of one cab in downtown Mexico City.

Asked about the prospects of converting his vehicle, he expressed concerns about the safety of natural gas. He noted that there was a less-than-successful push a decade ago for conversions.

But, with a shrug of his shoulders, he indicated that if the government insists, he and other drivers will comply with the new rules.

Times staff writer Judy Pasternak in Los Angeles contributed to this report.