Hong Kong electric taxis will not operate round the clock due to long charging times

Hong Kong’s two-year trial run of electric taxis has backfired as its long charging time was viewed as unsuitable to operate the cabs round the clock.

The Environment Bureau reached the conclusion as it examined the results of 40 trials of electric vehicles funded by the government’s Pilot Green Transport Fund.

The government set up the HK$300 million fund in 2011 aiming to encourage greener energy use for commercial vehicles. As of the end of March, the fund had approved 94 trials of electric vehicles with about HK$86 million in subsidies.

“High production cost, limited service life, long charging time and low energy density of e-vehicle batteries are the key constraints for electric vehicles to take up commercial transportation duties,” the bureau said.