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Citroens out, electric cabs in, for city's taxi fleet

By Wang Chao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-29 11:23

The last 200 Citroen taxis will leave the city's streets by May with electric taxis tipped to be introduced into the market according to proposals at the Beijing municipal people's congress.

Citroen taxis were brought into use in Beijing more than 10 years ago. From 2003, the local government gradually reduced the number and substituted them with Hyundai Sonata and Elantra cars.

"The proposal was brought up two days ago but the details are still under discussion," a spokesman from the municipal commission of transport told METRO Thursday.

Currently, there are 60,000 taxis in Beijing putting out pollution every day, according to Wang Dawei, director of the atmospheric division of the Beijing municipal environmental protection bureau.

"Since taxi drivers are driven by money, they will take more trips than private cars and the harm is greater," he said.

Wang suggested the government use "high-end cars" with lower emission rates as taxis.

"Most Citroens have already been phased out," said Hu, manager of an unstated taxi company.

Hu has been involved in the taxi business for more than 30 years.

"From the outside, a Citroen looks okay. But actually, it burns more gas and emits more fumes than any other taxi on the street," he said.

Hu said most of the remaining Citroen taxis belong to United Crescent Taxi Company and Yiyang Taxi Company.

A worker from United Crescent Taxi Company, who refused to be named, said they are still using a considerable number of Citroens, but wouldn't release the number.

When asked about electric cars, Hu said that although they were expensive, the long-term savings justified the cost.

"Electric cars put out zero emissions in the atmosphere, so they are also beneficial to the environment," Wang said.

But Hu expressed concern.

"I'm afraid these cars cannot make the long distance between battery charge stations," Hu said. "The highest speed is only 120 km per hour."

Chen Ligong, a member of the municipal science and technology commission, said in an interview with Beijing Evening News that 50 electric buses were already operating in Beijing.

"The next step is to try electric taxis within the Fifth Ring Road," Chen said.

"If the test run proves successful, it will be promoted to other areas of Beijing," he said.