HK in line for 'green' buses
THE first of a new generation of pollution-free vehicles may be in Hong Kong within a matter of months.
A provisional agreement has been reached for the supply of advanced Daimler-Benz electric vehicles to the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza hotel.
The two electrically powered shuttle buses will be the first zero-emision vehicles in the territory, apart from the fleet of electric vans used by China Light and Power (CLP).
Gerhard Hecker, general manager of the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, said details of the transaction were yet to be finalised and he was waiting to see what sort of deal Mercedes-Benz would offer.
Mercedes-Benz may be willing to sponsor the use of the vehicles and absorb some of the cost.
Mr Hecker said: ''The purchase cost is very high for electric vehicles, the question is what the company [Mercedes-Benz] wants to do. The initial statement from Daimler-Benz is that they are interested in sponsoring the two vehicles.
''We will have to wait to see exactly what will happen; we may use the buses for a year and then buy them, or they may be supplied in the form of a joint deal.'' Electrically powered vehicles are expensive to buy - up to twice the cost of a conventional vehicle - but the running costs are low. The batteries are recharged using mains electricity.
If the terms from the German factory are acceptable, the vehicles could be in the territory within a matter of months.
Mr Hecker said: ''We will wait for news from the members of the board and, if they agree, these vehicles will be here as soon as possible.'' The proposal to supply the vehicles to the hotel came from Matthias Kleinert, senior vice-president, public affairs and political and economic policy for Daimler-Benz, when the company's officials visited Hong Kong for an exhibition of the company's anti-pollution technology.
The exhibition, held at the Hong Kong Science Museum last month, featured 20 exhibits designed to combat pollution problems.
Mr Kleinert said adopting the Daimler-Benz AG technology would improve the environment and made good business sense.
He said: ''Hong Kong could make itself indispensable to China as the 'solver' of pollution problems, which are likely to increase with the acceleration of the country's modernisation programmes.'' The two electrically powered shuttle buses will be used to carry passengers on the Holiday Inn shuttle route the hotel established six months ago. The set distance and journey time is ideal for electric vehicles, which lack the range of conventional machines.
The Holiday Inn will have to install power points for the recharging of the buses' batteries, but general facilities for electric vehicles may be provided by the government in future if the recommendations of the Environmental Pollution Advisory Committee (Epcom) are implemented.
At its July meeting, Epcom urged the government to review infrastructure facilities necessary for the use of electric vehicles in Hong Kong and proposed the government buy two vehicles for evaluation.
Epcom also proposed the first registration tax be waived for electrically powered vehicles to encourage the use of the more environmentally friendly transport.
Phil Taylor, chief executive of the Hong Kong Automobile Association, said electric power was not yet suitable for passenger car owners.
He said: ''We have an open mind about electric vehicles. On the one hand, they may help the environment, on the other they are still in the experimental stage.
''Anyone prepared to experiment locally with electric vehicles deserves a pat on the back.'' Mr Taylor said the new generation of hybrid vehicles, which used both battery power and a small engine, were more likely to work well as private cars.
The hybrid power unit vehicles can change from battery to engine power as the battery charge becomes low, and the use of the petrol engine means that fewer of the bulky batteries need to be carried.