Electric Taxis Could Help to Relieve Beijing Pollution

Over 1,000 new electric taxis could be hitting the road in Beijing by the end of the year in an effort to reduce pollution, Beijing Times reported Tuesday.

Pilot projects for electric taxis have been underway in Beijing suburbs since the beginning of the year. However, it remains to be seen how effective the taxis can be given their relatively limited range.

While electric vehicles are seen as cleaner than their petroleum-driven counterparts, their environmental benefits are subject entirely to the how clean the local method of electricity generation is. In other words, vehicles running on electricity generated by coal-burning plants may or may not be more green than gas-powered cars and trucks.

Beijing's public transport, including taxis, run on a variety of fuels. Aside from electric-powered trolley buses and the aforementioned electric taxis, some buses run on liquified or compressed natural gas. Compressed natural gas taxis were trialled during the Olympics but not adopted for wider use.

Photo: EVhui.com