Tel Aviv to switch to electric transport

Minister of the Environment Gilad Erdan is in talks with Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai on using Chinese company BYD's model.

Public transport in Tel Aviv will gradually switch to non-polluting vehicles over the next few years. As part of measures being introduced by Minister of the Environment Gilad Erdan to reduce the use of polluting vehicles in city centers, taxis in Tel Aviv will be hybrid or electric cars. During his stay in China last week, Erdan visited BYD (Build Your Dreams), the world's second largest battery manufacturer, to examine the company's latest development in electric vehicles. The company has managed to upgrade the batteries to be used by electric vehicle venture Better Place in Israel, and has developed a vehicle whose batteries, instead of being recharged or replaced every 160 kilometers, will have a range of 330 kilometers. BYD is focusing on taxis of this type. Erdan has been in talks with Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai on implementing the company's model in the city. In New York, a move to hybrid taxis is already underway.

The switch to non-polluting public transport in tel Aviv is part of a plan that will include all the main cities, as the Ministry of the Environment gears up for expansion of its authority in the area of transport next year under the Clean Air Law. The ministry recently published a tender to find a company to advise it on implementing technology for reducing air pollution in transport. By next year, the ministry intends to impose strict standards on polluting buses and taxis.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 12, 2010

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2010

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