Abu Dhabi: In light of the lowering cost of gas-operated taxis worldwide, Sharjah, one of the seven emirates of the UAE, is planning to convert at least 1,600 taxis to run on natural gas instead of petrol within the next two years.
Sharjah Transport Corporation (STC) has said that 800 cabs would be converted this year, with 800 more going green in 2014 as natural gas emits less emissions and is more efficient than petrol. STC plans to convert all cabs by 2015. Abdullah Al Zarri, director general of STC, said it had reached an agreement with the four franchised taxi companies that operated in the emirate to change the colour of their cars, according to the National newspaper.
All taxis will now be painted white but with different colour roofs so customers can tell the companies apart.
“The other parts of the taxis would be white but the top can be green as for Union Taxi or pink as for Advantage Taxi,” said Al Zarri. He added that STC had successfully moved into its Dh55m headquarters in Al Azra this year. QNA
