Can you imagine hailing an EV taxi, for commuting from one place to another in Dubai? Sounds like a futuristic snippet, doesn’t it? Well, this may soon become a reality for people living in the emirate as Dubai Taxi Corporation has now started trial runs for the Chinese electric vehicle, Skywell. Here’s all you need to know about the trial phase that’s currently underway!
Dubai Taxi Corporation Starts Trials For Skywell
As mentioned above, the Dubai Taxi Corporation recently started a trial phase for the Chinese electronic vehicle, Skywell. As a part of their limo service, this will be a three-month phase and it will include testing on the roads of the city. According to a report by the National News, testing is being done to identify all the several features and abilities of the vehicle to ply within the taxi fleet of Dubai.
Talking about the vehicle itself, the Skywell ET5 SUV offers a range of 520 kilometres. And takes approximately 40 minutes to charge from 20 to 80 per cent. Moreover, this study is a part of the feasibility study to assess EVs. This includes testing several models from a variety of companies! According to the Chief Executive of DTC, Mansoor Al Falasi, the introduction of EVs is actually a part of the DTC’s plan to achieve emission-free transport by the year 2050.
At this point, it’s also worth mentioning that currently 70 per cent of the DTC fleet includes eco-friendly vehicles. And the plan now is to add 70 eco-friendly vehicles to the group every year! This is being done with the motive of making public transport in Dubai, emission-free.
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Eco-Friendly Taxis By 2027 In Dubai?
Not to mention, this development comes after two Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles were introduced in July 2022 to create a digital map of Dubai. And, these were equipped with sensors and cameras, and the exercise was done with the motive of creating a map for the first driverless taxis in the city. As such, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority also recently announced that it plans to make all taxis eco-friendly by 2027. This means all public transport cars will be hybrid, hydrogen-powered, or even electric by the end of this period!
Cover Image Courtesy: Dubai Media Office