Electric taxis to first serve passengers in Greater Bangkok

BANGKOK, March 20 (TNA) - Passengers in Bangkok and its peripheral areas will be first served with electric taxis BYD e6 over the next couple of months under the Ministry of Transport's Taxi VIP Project. Sanit Promwong, Director-General of the Ministry's Department of Land Transport, presided over a ceremony in Bangkok on March 19 to sign an agreement with License Energy Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of AJ Advance Technology Public Company Limited, the importer of the electric taxis BYD e6 from China. Sanit told journalists that the "Taxi VIP Project" has been introduced to provide another option for passengers in Greater Bangkok and to encourage business operators in the Thai transport sector to participate in the government's policy on an upgraded service of taxis. According to the senior official, his department has targeted to increase the number of electric taxis BYD e6 imported from China under the Taxi VIP Project to 1,000 units by next year. The senior official announced that the fare of the electric taxis BYD e6 under the project will be started at 150 baht for the first two kilometers and will be then increased 15 baht in every one kilometer farther. "Initially, a free power charging service will be offered to all drivers of the imported electric taxis BYD e6 under the project at seven Susco gas stations in Bangkok, with each charging time taking about one and a half hours for every 350-kilometer distance, while Phoenix Insurance Company (Thailand) Limited will offer its insurance services to drivers of the first 100 electric taxis BYD e6 with a specially-discount premium", said the senior official. China has produced electric cars BYD e6 to be specially used as taxis, having already served passengers not only in areas in China, but also those in the United Kingdom and Australia. (TNA)