Essen, Europe’s 2010 Capital of Culture, is developing a new reputation arising from its green taxis. Started in 2005, the Essen Umwelttaxen (Environmental Taxis) Project commenced with the goal of reducing impact on the environment through the adoption of natural gas fuel.
Starting with 35 taxis the natural gas fleet is now 65-strong and has just completed a collective 20 million kilometres, equivalent to 500 orbits of the the world. Stadtwerke Essen AG, the local public utility which helped establish the project, explained approximately 1,600 tons of CO2 has been saved as a result.
Dr Timm Kehler, CEO for erdgas mobil GmbH, in an interview last year described natural gas taxis in Germany as the new environmental ambassadors.
This article primarily compiled using information from an erdgas mobil GmbH press release.
