Amadeus Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Well, you will have seen the frontpage of the newspaper, so I might as well share the press release that was sent out yesterday (it's 1:1 copy/paste in the paper anyway). I don't have any info on top of it apart from the fact that the vans exist and are indeed parked up in Douglas. I went and had a look at them. What I think is worth pointing out, though, is the fact that these vans are perfectly road legal throughout the developed world and that it's outdated IOMG rules preventing their use here. I cannot comment on figures or how much they cost as I wasn't part of the council when this was discussed and decided, so I don't actually know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omobono Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 I thought there was a pilot scheme a few years ago where taxi's and other vehicles trialed LPG , I would have thought an exemption could have been created in the regulations to allow a similar thing to take place , I am not an expert in gas as a vehicular fuel , but I assume there must be other issues perhaps safety that prevent the use of these vehicles taking place , But you would have thought the council would have covered themselves with the supplier if they found they could not be operated here , sadly its developing into another chewing gum machine fiasco , not thought out properly ,I wonder how much they lost on the sell back of the vehicles ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Non-Believer Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 (edited) This will be another failing of DOI in failing to update legislation. Many years ago the same situation existed with "plastic" fuel tanks on vehicles, particularly motorcycles of the on/off road variety - road legal (and safer on impact-resistance grounds) in the rest of the world but on the IoM, oh no, and many a person here was prosecuted for having a standard fitment, Euro-legal tank. Selwyn Taggart and the boys at the Testing Station had a field day in failing bikes put up for test too. It took DOI or whatever it was called then about 5+ years to change the legislation and bring it into line with the rest of the world when it was eventually pointed out. Edited March 1, 2022 by Non-Believer typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finlo Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 (edited) 25 minutes ago, Non-Believer said: This will be another failing of DOI in failing to update legislation. Many years ago the same situation existed with "plastic" fuel tanks on vehicles, particularly motorcycles of the on/off road variety - road legal (and safer on impact-resistance grounds) in the rest of the world but on the IoM, oh no, and many a person here was prosecuted for having a standard fitment, Euro-legal tank. Selwyn Taggart and the boys at the Testing Station had a field day in failing bikes put up for test too. It took DOI or whatever it was called then about 5+ years to change the legislation and bring it into line with the rest of the world when it was eventually pointed out. They used to fail brand new Mercedes that were put in for the taxi test due to 'too much play in the steering and suspension' Muppets! Edited March 1, 2022 by finlo 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two-lane Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 The press statement says "...significant savings made in fuel costs..." If these savings are made via lower raw material, manufacturing and distribution costs, that is ok. But if the savings are made via lower tax on compressed natural gas compared to diesel, there is actually no saving in the longer term. If most vehicles change to CNG, the gov. will then simply rack up the tax on CNG to the same level as road fuel is now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passing Time Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 2 hours ago, Amadeus said: Well, you will have seen the frontpage of the newspaper, so I might as well share the press release that was sent out yesterday (it's 1:1 copy/paste in the paper anyway). I don't have any info on top of it apart from the fact that the vans exist and are indeed parked up in Douglas. I went and had a look at them. What I think is worth pointing out, though, is the fact that these vans are perfectly road legal throughout the developed world and that it's outdated IOMG rules preventing their use here. I cannot comment on figures or how much they cost as I wasn't part of the council when this was discussed and decided, so I don't actually know. would you/they not have checked first to see if they were legal on the island or is DBC above such things... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bastard Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 8 minutes ago, Passing Time said: would you/they not have checked first to see if they were legal on the island or is DBC above such things... Agreed, sounds like due diligence was cursory at best. Part of the due diligence for spending that amount of public money on new technology should have been to check if the vehicles could actually be legally driven on the road. It's the same for electric, hydrogen, whatever - and anyone who has ever imported a vehicle knows how tricky the process can be. Would have taken 5 minutes to check with the DOI. Proper scrutiny of the contract conditions that would prevent the return of the vehicles after sale should have set alarm bells ringing in the first place. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopek Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 (edited) Amadeus, can you explain why the price paid and selling price are 'commercially sensitive'? This is a Govt wide excuse not just DCorp but do you have an idea why in this particular case? Did Dlas have the gas tank in place before purchase for other reasons? If not, then planning would have been required and that might have been the time investigate the legallity? Who was going to supply the gas and did they not mention that it was not legal? It could only be sensitve if a future purchase is envisaged and DCorp want to keep the price hidden for future negotiations? Of course, it could also be to avoid embarrassment ! Edited March 1, 2022 by Kopek 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted March 1, 2022 Author Share Posted March 1, 2022 2 hours ago, Non-Believer said: This will be another failing of DOI in failing to update legislation. Many years ago the same situation existed with "plastic" fuel tanks on vehicles, particularly motorcycles of the on/off road variety - road legal (and safer on impact-resistance grounds) in the rest of the world but on the IoM, oh no, and many a person here was prosecuted for having a standard fitment, Euro-legal tank. Selwyn Taggart and the boys at the Testing Station had a field day in failing bikes put up for test too. It took DOI or whatever it was called then about 5+ years to change the legislation and bring it into line with the rest of the world when it was eventually pointed out. I think that situation changed when the government at the time bought a new Volvo for the governor, with a plastic fuel tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopek Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 (edited) They wanted him to have a Peel 50 but apart from the tank there wasn't anywhere to stick the flag!. Apart from up......................... Edited March 1, 2022 by Kopek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passing Time Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 21 minutes ago, Kopek said: Amadeus, can you explain why the price paid and selling price are 'commercially sensitive'? This is a Govt wide excuse not just DCorp but do you have an idea why in this particular case? Did Dlas have the gas tank in place before purchase for other reasons? If not, then planning would have been required and that might have been the time investigate the legallity? Who was going to supply the gas and did they not mention that it was not legal? It could only be sensitve if a future purchase is envisaged and DCorp want to keep the price hidden for future negotiations? Of course, it could also be to avoid embarrassment ! as usual Kopek, it's sensitive because once again somebody got a hard on spending money that wasn't theirs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted March 1, 2022 Author Share Posted March 1, 2022 3 hours ago, Amadeus said: Well, you will have seen the frontpage of the newspaper, so I might as well share the press release that was sent out yesterday (it's 1:1 copy/paste in the paper anyway). I don't have any info on top of it apart from the fact that the vans exist and are indeed parked up in Douglas. I went and had a look at them. What I think is worth pointing out, though, is the fact that these vans are perfectly road legal throughout the developed world and that it's outdated IOMG rules preventing their use here. I cannot comment on figures or how much they cost as I wasn't part of the council when this was discussed and decided, so I don't actually know. The Isle of Man, where you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 59 minutes ago, Kopek said: Amadeus, can you explain why the price paid and selling price are 'commercially sensitive'? This is a Govt wide excuse not just DCorp but do you have an idea why in this particular case? Did Dlas have the gas tank in place before purchase for other reasons? If not, then planning would have been required and that might have been the time investigate the legallity? Who was going to supply the gas and did they not mention that it was not legal? It could only be sensitve if a future purchase is envisaged and DCorp want to keep the price hidden for future negotiations? Of course, it could also be to avoid embarrassment ! I cannot speak for the council here, just for myself, and speaking as myself, I am wondering that too and will ask about it - as I have already seen another councillor saying he will. Maybe as email, maybe as question in council next week. I will only know the figures myself shortly once they are being circulated as part of the paperwork ahead of next week's meeting. That will then be the time to question why they are being classed as confidential and depending on the answer, decide how to act. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc.fixit Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Hmmm. Why do they need new vehicles so frequently? ( I see they are replacing the mistake with diesels). If they really need new vehicles then petrol is less polluting. No one has mentioned the infrastructure needed to compress the natural gas, ( I'm presuming that it can't just be used from a gas tap). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopek Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 (edited) It's unlikely that the person recently leaving had any say in the decision to buy, may have signed the cheque but the decision would have been one of the boards. OK, the Council staff should have checked the position when enquiring about road tax! Edited March 1, 2022 by Kopek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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