Hong Kong to reduce vehicle emissions by over half

Hong Kong is expected to reduce emissions from vehicles by some 56 per cent through the use of electrified public transport.

BYD Company Ltd has announced solutions for electrifying Hong Kong City’s public transport by replacing diesel buses and LPG taxis.

Experts are of the opinion that this move will drive down Hong Kong’s vehicle emissions by some 56 per cent, and the plans are set to get underway soon.

Indeed BYD has also announced it is to introduce e6 pure electric taxis in the region in May this year. A fleet of 45 will be launched.

The company ‘s chairman and president, Chuan-fu Wang, noted that Hong Kong has a history of dedication to the promotion of green transport. It set out that making the the region’s public transport network electric would not only significantly cut costs, it would also dramatically lower the city vehicle emissions and air quality.

This will have a “tremendous social impact” for the people of Hong Kong, it added.

In addition to the electric taxis being launched in the region, BYD and a number of its partners have built and tested three charging stations. Furthermore, a second batch is to be set up before May.

Furthermore, the organisation is also working with local industry partners in a bid to further electrify the public transport system of Hong Kong.

By doing so it is tackling one of the major sources of air pollution in the cities. It has been calculated that replacing the 18,000 LPG tacis and 12,000 diesel buses with electric taxis and buses would cut emissions by the equivalent of some 800,000 private cars.

This would make for significant progress when it comes to Hong Kong’s green targets of low noise pollution, zero emissions and zero pollution.