<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Motorists change driving habits
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Fuel sales shrink in first 6 months as drivers take cost-cutting measures </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->HIGHER pump prices, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates and parking charges have persuaded motorists to ease off on the throttle, going by how much fuel is being guzzled.
Statistics from the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed 3.916 million barrels of fuel, both petrol and diesel, were sold in the first six months of the year.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Save $42m on fuel - by inflating tyres correctly
MOTORISTS here can save another $42million on fuel a year - just by inflating their tyres correctly.
French tyre-maker Michelin estimates that two-thirds of Singapore drivers under-inflate their car tyres, which leads to higher resistance and, consequently, higher fuel consumption.
It discovered this troubling trend - which it said is not unique to Singapore - through an inspection of 1,000 cars at four petrol kiosks in the past two months.
Of the lot, 67 per cent had nearly all four tyres under-inflated. And about 14per cent had at least one tyre that was severely under-inflated.
Michelin said this not only increases fuel usage but could also be unsafe and lead to premature tyre wear.
CHRISTOPHER TAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>This was 2.2 per cent less than the same period last year, despite the vehicle population having grown 6.1 per cent to about 875,000 as at June.
While a 2.2 per cent dip may not seem like much, it translates to approximately $27.5 million in sales. The shrinkage is unusual as the economy in the first half of the year has been relatively robust.
The last time fuel sales shrank noticeably was in 2003, when the economy was shaken by the Iraq war, and Singapore and Asia were in the grip of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.
That year, fuel sales fell by 5.2 per cent to 7.872 million barrels. Volume continued to slide, hitting 7.333 million barrels in 2005. Sales then started to pick up from 2006, and have been on the rise - until now. Last year, fuel sales totalled 8.046 million barrels - still 3.1 per cent off 2002's 8.304 million.
Industry observers said high pump prices have encouraged drivers to cut back on discretionary trips as well as plan their journeys better. Drivers may have adopted more frugal driving practices - from being light-footed to going without air-conditioning.
Observers said the expanded ERP network and higher charges, as well as heftier parking charges, have driven more people to take public transport. Daily ridership on buses and trains hit a record 4.8million in the first quarter.
Mr Ng Weng Hoong, editor of energy news portal EnergyAsia.com, said: 'I think people are really spooked by the pump price rises.'
Mr Vincent Chong, retail manager of ExxonMobil, which has the largest refuelling network here, said: 'Higher prices have influenced a change in lifestyle, not just here in Singapore but everywhere.'
He said people are now more careful about car usage and have switched to cheaper fuels. 'In the last two years, we've seen more than 10 per cent of sales shifting from 98-octane petrol to 95-octane. 92-octane sales are rising too.'
Other industry sources said the proliferation of vehicles that can run on compressed natural gas (CNG) may have contributed to the drop in petrol sales, but ExxonMobil said the number of CNG cars is still too small to make an impact.
There are about 2,200 cars, including taxis, running on CNG here. They make up 0.4 per cent of the total car population.
Many motorists have tweaked their driving patterns after prices began spiralling last year. Warehouse manager Adrian Wang, 48, said he is now getting better economy from his car, a Mitsubishi Evo Wagon. 'I used to get 6.8km per litre. Now I get as much as 7.9km.'
He attributed this to recent modifications to make his car more efficient. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Fuel sales shrink in first 6 months as drivers take cost-cutting measures </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
THE STRAITS TIMES FILE PHOTOS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->HIGHER pump prices, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) rates and parking charges have persuaded motorists to ease off on the throttle, going by how much fuel is being guzzled.
Statistics from the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed 3.916 million barrels of fuel, both petrol and diesel, were sold in the first six months of the year.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Save $42m on fuel - by inflating tyres correctly
MOTORISTS here can save another $42million on fuel a year - just by inflating their tyres correctly.
French tyre-maker Michelin estimates that two-thirds of Singapore drivers under-inflate their car tyres, which leads to higher resistance and, consequently, higher fuel consumption.
It discovered this troubling trend - which it said is not unique to Singapore - through an inspection of 1,000 cars at four petrol kiosks in the past two months.
Of the lot, 67 per cent had nearly all four tyres under-inflated. And about 14per cent had at least one tyre that was severely under-inflated.
Michelin said this not only increases fuel usage but could also be unsafe and lead to premature tyre wear.
CHRISTOPHER TAN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>This was 2.2 per cent less than the same period last year, despite the vehicle population having grown 6.1 per cent to about 875,000 as at June.
While a 2.2 per cent dip may not seem like much, it translates to approximately $27.5 million in sales. The shrinkage is unusual as the economy in the first half of the year has been relatively robust.
The last time fuel sales shrank noticeably was in 2003, when the economy was shaken by the Iraq war, and Singapore and Asia were in the grip of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak.
That year, fuel sales fell by 5.2 per cent to 7.872 million barrels. Volume continued to slide, hitting 7.333 million barrels in 2005. Sales then started to pick up from 2006, and have been on the rise - until now. Last year, fuel sales totalled 8.046 million barrels - still 3.1 per cent off 2002's 8.304 million.
Industry observers said high pump prices have encouraged drivers to cut back on discretionary trips as well as plan their journeys better. Drivers may have adopted more frugal driving practices - from being light-footed to going without air-conditioning.
Observers said the expanded ERP network and higher charges, as well as heftier parking charges, have driven more people to take public transport. Daily ridership on buses and trains hit a record 4.8million in the first quarter.
Mr Ng Weng Hoong, editor of energy news portal EnergyAsia.com, said: 'I think people are really spooked by the pump price rises.'
Mr Vincent Chong, retail manager of ExxonMobil, which has the largest refuelling network here, said: 'Higher prices have influenced a change in lifestyle, not just here in Singapore but everywhere.'
He said people are now more careful about car usage and have switched to cheaper fuels. 'In the last two years, we've seen more than 10 per cent of sales shifting from 98-octane petrol to 95-octane. 92-octane sales are rising too.'
Other industry sources said the proliferation of vehicles that can run on compressed natural gas (CNG) may have contributed to the drop in petrol sales, but ExxonMobil said the number of CNG cars is still too small to make an impact.
There are about 2,200 cars, including taxis, running on CNG here. They make up 0.4 per cent of the total car population.
Many motorists have tweaked their driving patterns after prices began spiralling last year. Warehouse manager Adrian Wang, 48, said he is now getting better economy from his car, a Mitsubishi Evo Wagon. 'I used to get 6.8km per litre. Now I get as much as 7.9km.'
He attributed this to recent modifications to make his car more efficient. [email protected]
