Dubai: 554 more hybrid taxis to traverse the roads
Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has endorsed a contract to bring 554 more eco-friendly, hybrid taxis to the roads of Dubai, following the success of the existing hybrid taxis.
These vehicles, which are fitted with a combination of fuel engine and electric motors, currently constitute about 11% of the fleet of the Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC). According to Wam news agency, the move is part of a plan to curb pollution from exhausts and make vehicles friendly to the environment of Dubai. DTC plans to increase the proportion of hybrid vehicles, by the end of 2017, to 17% of its taxi fleet, which currently comprises 503 vehicles.
Mattar Al Tayer, director-general and chairman of the board of executive directors of the RTA, said the move illustrated the RTAs commitment to curbing carbon emissions from the taxi by 2% – as required by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the Green Economy initiative.
He said: “The underlying objective of using hybrid vehicles operation is to support Dubais initiative themed Green vehicles for a cleaner environment, besides assessing the feasibility of using hybrid vehicles in the Dubai Taxi fleet.
He added that RTA is the first government entity in the region to experiment with the operation of hybrid taxicabs fitted with electric-fuel engines in Dubai taxi from 2008 to 2011.
He also said: Results of the experiment revealed that such vehicles had covered 550,000 km without faults or requiring maintenance of major parts. Fuel efficiency reached 30% and carbon emission dropped by 30% as well.”
The RTA has endorsed a plan for converting 50% of Dubai taxicabs into hybrid vehicles by 2021. DTC is set to have the largest share of hybrid taxis in Dubai, totalling 2280 vehicles, followed by CARS (900 vehicles), National Taxi (812 vehicles), Arabia Taxi (463 vehicles), METRO Taxi (377 vehicles), and City Taxi (18 vehicles).
