A former Japanese school teacher is doing his bit to help the environment by launching a company using Toyota's gasoline-electric powered Prius car in what he claims is the world's first hybrid "Eco-Taxi" service.
Hideki Nakamura, the 54-year-old president of New Trans System, which began operating late last month, said the Eco-Taxi was a way to raise public awareness of environmental problems.
"I want people to know the importance of environmental issues," Nakamura said in an interview at his prefabricated headquarters in suburban Tokyo.
"Since our daily life is so dependent on cars, I decided to use them as a tool to get people interested in environmental problems such as global warming and the destruction of tropical rain forests," he said.
The Eco-Taxis not only protect the environment but help save money for passengers as the flag fare is ?570 (US$5) for the first two kilometers, ?90 less than regular taxis, Nakamura said.
For a 70km ride, such as from central Tokyo to the outer suburbs for many late night revellers, the Eco-Taxi costs about ?17,000, ?3,000 less than rivals.
Nakamura said he became interested in environmental issues during his 13 years as an elementary school teacher.
"With my pupils, I used to make environmentally friendly soaps or grow vegetables without using agricultural chemicals and naturally I started caring about the environment," he said.
"Also seeing polluted oceans and rivers made me worry for the sake of the children. I figured they were not going to live in a clean environment. As a teacher and just as an adult, I felt I had to do something about the environment."
Toyota's Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid car, emits 50 percent less carbon dioxide than a regular car with an engine size of 1.8 litres. Carbon dioxide is believed to be a major factor in global warming.
The Prius is capable of doing 35.5km per liter of gasoline, twice as far as the 16km for a conventional car with a 1.8 liter petrol engine, according to Toyota.
Hybrid cars are equipped with an electric motor and a standard petrol engine, making them much more economical and environment-friendly than conventional gasoline engines.
The electric motor is used for low-pollution travel at low speeds, switching to the gasoline engine for more powerful cruising speed on open roads.
The cars mainly saves fuel by being able to accelerate using their electric motor up to around 65kph before the gasoline engine cuts in.
Nakamura's Eco-Taxi fleet currently numbers only 10 Priuses with two more coming into service this month, but he says he aims to boost the numbers to 300 next year, purchased through a special used-car dealership.
He receives no advertising fees or any type of financial assistance from Toyota as New Trans System was set up with the help of donations from Nakamura's friends.
"As a taxi company president, I have to make money. But once I've put the company on a stable path, I would like to donate some of our profits to Costa Rica to help it preserve its tropical rain forests," he said.
Nakamura also said he was planning to expand the Eco-Taxi business to France, Germany and Italy over the next three years.
Only weeks after starting up the company with 28 drivers in all, the Eco-Taxis are taking some 220 passengers per day, slightly better than the average in the industry, Nakamura said.
More than 20 firms including a trading house and a life insurer have already placed requests for contracts, he added.
Eco-Taxi driver Kazuhiro Sakai, 36, said the response from customers was hugely encouraging with almost every passenger congratulating him over the environmental initiative.
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