Green initiative: Hybrid cars

Ten new green taxis – unveiled last night by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) – are just the first steps in an experimental pilot programme to reduce harmful emissions on Dubai roads, said RTA officials.

In years to come, hundreds of hybrid vehicles are expected to be added to Dubai’s taxi fleet.

Hybrid vehicles have far fewer emissions and consume up to 50 per cent less fuel than conventional cars.

At a ceremony last night,  Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, unveiled the new green initiative that includes new eco-friendly double-decker buses.

Five Chevrolet Tahoes and five Malibus will also be converted into green taxis that use a hybrid combination of a gasoline engine supported by an electrical one.
The pilot programme will test car batteries in a one-year experiment to be overseen by the RTA and General Motors Co.

Mattar Al Tayer, RTA Chairman, said the new vehicles are part of a plan to cut back on exhaust emissions that contribute to greenhouse gases and global warming. The plan “calls for reducing carbon monoxide gases from 4.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent and hydrocarbon from 800ppm to 300ppm”, Al Tayer said.

“All of this is a first step in a master plan to make vehicles in Dubai environment-friendly.”  

Older cars to be banned
Al Tayer added that the new laws will ban “old light vehicles, the life of which exceeds 20 years”, as part of a push for more eco-friendly cars.
The decision, he said, was recently approved by senior government officials after the RTA submitted a motion to the National Transport Authority to cut down on the number of old vehicles on roads.
The new regulation will also ban any import of used light vehicles that are five years and older, as well as used heavy vehicles that are seven years and older.

Did you know?
Hybrid vehicles are not just eco-friendly and have far less emissions, but they also consume up to 50 per cent less fuel than conventional cars.