Wed, Sep 03, 2008 page2

• Taxi service reduces emissions

  LESS TIME, LESS WASTE: Dominic Tsai opened Hi Taxi in March to help eliminate excess pollution created by cabbies who waste hours needlessly looking for clients

  • By Meggie Lu / STAFF REPORTER
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  Instead of hailing taxis on the street, consumers can save time, money and an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to 4,859 Da-an Forest Parks (大安森林公園) annually by calling for taxis by phone or on the Internet, a group of environmentalists and the taxi driver association said yesterday.

  “If taxi drivers use an electronic system to learn exactly what time and where a customer wants to board their cabs, they can stop circling around the city aimlessly, wasting fuel and polluting the air along the way,” said Dominic Tsai (蔡承家), the founding chair of Hi Taxi, a network that puts “taxi teams” on the Internet so that their services can be ordered online.

  “This is a win-win situation — while the working conditions of taxi drivers are improved because they can rest in call stations when they are not driving, customers can get 10 percent to 20 percent off their fares … We also donate NT$1 to environmental groups with each booking,” he said.

  

  People dressed as insects and other animals promote the Hi Taxi cab booking service in Taipei yesterday. The company says that when cabs are booked online or by phone, emissions are cut as cab drivers spend less time cruising for fares. Hi Taxi promises to donate NT$1 to conservation groups for every booking made.

  PHOTO: CNA

  As the transportation sector contributes 15 percent to 17 percent of the nation’s carbon emissions, the public should begin to implement ways to curb unnecessary waste in this area, said Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲), secretary-general of Green Party Taiwan.

  “This is especially true in the face of global warming and recent rises in gas prices. While an average taxi driver spends about NT$1,000 per day on fuel, 60 percent to 70 percent of his or her time on the road, the car isn’t hired,” said Chen Deng (陳燈), head of the Taiwan Taxi Transportation Federation.

  In terms of fuel, Pan said, the excess translates to 1.1 million liters of fuel a day, as there are almost 90,000 taxis nationwide.

  Staying at call stations until being hired instead of circling the streets is also good for taxi drivers in terms of their health and income, Chen said.

  “With fuel prices deducted, a taxi driver makes about NT$1,000 a day, while a taxi driver who joins a taxi team makes NT$1,500 a day,” he said. “Roaming drivers end up driving at least 250km to make a sustainable income and have to work 10 to 12 hours a day.”

  “The world is modernizing … From cruising the streets, to being hired by phone, then by satellite [phone], I am calling on all taxi drivers to join this online network,” he said. “Carbon reduction is our goal.”

  And the online system may be on the way, as the veteran marketer — who has never driven a taxi — founded Hi Taxi in March, and already his network includes 3,000 taxis, 1,500 of which are in Greater Taipei, making it the second largest taxi team nationwide, he said.
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