Government and Industry to Cooperate to Expand Pollution-free Taxis

The Ministry of Environment (Minister Han, Jung-ae) signed a business agreement with Seoul Metropolitan Government, Private Taxi Association, Corporate Taxi Association, Hyundai Motor Co., Kia, and SK Energy* at The K Hotel located in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, on August 24.

The business agreement was promoted to achieve carbon neutrality in the transportation sector as well as reducing fine dust and greenhouse gases by expanding the supply of pollution-free taxis (electric and hydrogen-fueled taxis).

Currently, only about 3,000 electric taxis are pollution-free among a total of 250,000 taxis, and in the case of hydrogen-fueled taxis, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is promoting the demonstration project with 20 taxis from 2019 (10 in 2019 and 10 in 2020).

Since taxis drive 10 times longer than regular vehicles and emit 4.5 times more greenhouse gases, it is expected that air quality improvement will be very effective if taxis are converted to pollution-free vehicles.

In addition, taxi is one of the key public transportation methods, so it will greatly contribute to settling pollution-free cars when it is converted to electric or hydrogen-fueled.

Although there have been limitations such as a lack of pollution-free models suitable for taxis and the inconvenience of charging, electric taxis offer excellent rideability due to very low noise and vibration, as well as low driver fatigue when driving for a long time.

In addition, the demand for conversion of pollution-free taxis is expected to increase as new medium-sized electric taxis with sufficient internal space are released from this year, and hydrogen-fueled taxis will be released in the future, so the government plans to focus on the supply of pollution-free taxis.

Currently, the government and local governments provide additional purchase subsidies to electric taxis than general taxis and offer benefits such as excluding taxi-operating mandatory shutdown system and extending the car age to expand the supply of pollution-free taxis

The Ministry of Environment plans to focus its capabilities on achieving its distribution goals with Seoul Metropolitan Government, taxi industry (owner taxi association, corporate taxi association), pollution-free vehicle manufacturers (Hyundai Motor Co., Kia), and charging businesses (SK Energy).

First of all, the Ministry of Environment and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have decided to expand the supply of pollution-free taxis by providing purchase subsidies and expanding charging infrastructure.

It also plans to actively cooperate with the taxi industry and charging businesses to improve charging conditions by installing chargers in areas frequently visited by taxi drivers, such as taxi garages, taxi shift areas, driver's restaurants, and local offices of the Taxi Association.

In addition to this year's electric vehicles (IONIQ 5, EV6, and new Niro), Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia will also introduce a variety of models that can be used as taxis to produce sufficient supplies, while the taxi industry will support and promote the business to boost the demand.

"We will promote the supply of pollution-free taxis so that people can use pollution-free taxis easily and comfortably in their everyday lives," said the Han Jung-ae, Minister of Environment. "We will actively gather strength with the related industries so that the conversion of taxis to pollution-free vehicles could lead to air quality improvement."

Reported by Smart City Today