China's Coal City to Replace Gas Taxis with Electric
11/05/2016
In early 2016 the city began the conversion of all its 8000 taxi fleet into purely electric vehicles, initially using BYD Auto model E6. Image: cctv-america
The northern Chinese city of Taiyuan is aiming to replace all its gasoline-powered taxis with electric vehicles by the end of 2016 to cut emissions.
Shanxi's capital started to gradually scrap its 8,292 conventional taxis in February. More than 3,000 electric taxis are now in business on the roads in Taiyuan, according to an official from the city's traffic management office.
The new taxis can run 400 km on a full charge, which takes two hours.
They are priced at around 310,000 yuan (US$48,000). Taxi drivers are being asked to contribute 90,000 yuan, with the central and local governments paying the rest.
Taiyuan currently has more than 500 charging posts, and plans to increase that to 5,000 by the end of 2018.
Image: BWPI
Massive coal production powered Shanxi's economic advance in the past few decades. Facing a flagging coal market and pollution pressure now, the province is trying to reduce its reliance on the coal industry by developing new energy sectors, including a low-carbon urban transport system.
In addition to the green taxis, Taiyuan plans to put 3,000 electric buses on the roads within the next three years.
