Electric taxis launched

BANGKOK, Aug 17 (TNA) -- The Land Transport Department and the private sector have introduced electric taxis which will be ready for services from Sept 9 onwards. Somsak Hommuang, deputy permanent secretary for transport, said Thursday that the department set standard for electric taxis and the Transport Ministry promoted the project to campaign for electric vehicles, cut fuel demand and improve taxi services and the environment in the country regarding waste gas emission. There are adequately 30 charging stations for the EV Taxi VIP cabs in Bangkok and there is a special parking lot for them at Suvarnabhumi airport to support the tourism image of the nation, Mr Somsak said. Sanit Phromwong, director-general of the Land Transport Department, said EV Society Co and Risen Energy Co were deploying BYD e6 electric vehicles for the debut of the EV Taxi VIP service in the country. Their 101 electric taxis would be gradually deployed within this year. Electric taxis would be equipped with safety features and modern facilities including anti-lock braking systems, GPS, emergency buttons, in-cab cameras and tablet computers. Their fares start at 150 baht for the first two kilometers of travel and 16 baht per kilometer on farther distances. Passengers can pay fares with cards and cash, Mr Sanit said. Passengers can call electric taxis via the Taxi OK application of the Land Transport Department and the call center number 0 2039 8888. (TNA)