Taxi operators given cash help to go electric

Four taxi operators will be subsidised by the government to import five electric cabs for a two-year trial this year.

The Environmental Protection Department said it had approved a total of HK$11 million to be spent on five electric taxis and two electric buses. The money will come from the HK$300 million Green Transport Fund set up last year.

New Territories Taxi Operations Union chairman Chan Shu-sang said he and the other three operators had started negotiations with Italian car company Fiat, asking if it could improve the design of its taxi and give it a trial run in Hong Kong.

Chan said electric taxis in Italy could only travel 200 kilometres before recharging. He hoped this capacity could be increased to 280 kilometres so Hong Kong drivers would only need to charge their cabs once in a 10-hour shift. Charging takes about 45 minutes.

Chan will receive about HK$2 million to import two taxis, at an estimated cost of HK$1.28 million each - more than five times the HK$240,000 price tag for a traditional cab.

'With electric taxis, drivers can save about HK$200 on daily fuel costs,' Chan said. He said the government and the Hong Kong Airport Authority had pledged to build four charging facilities in Sha Tin, Yuen Long, Sheung Shui and at the airport at Chek Lap Kok.