The government has budgeted NT$8.5 billion (US$300 million) to develop electric buses over the next four years as part of its program to upgrade public buses by 2030, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said yesterday.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) announced the plan at a forum in Taoyuan on the development of electric buses, where he took a ride on buses made by Master Transportation Bus Manufacturing and RAE Electric Vehicles, the two local companies that qualified for a pilot project by the ministry.
The government aims to upgrade gasoline and diesel-powered public buses across the nation to ones powered by electricity by 2030, he said.
Photo: Cheng Shu-ting, Taipei Times
The development of electric buses would stimulate demand for public transportation systems and the growth of the nation’s electric vehicle industry, which has the potential of becoming one of the nation’s strategic industries in the next decade, he said.
Taiwan has strong components, information and communications industries, but the nation’s public transport sector is “colonized” by foreign manufacturers, he said.
“Bus operators often have to buy components from original manufacturers to maintain their vehicles, but they then find out that those firms are here in Taiwan,” Lin said. “It is a pity that we do not have a platform to integrate such information.”
“If we overcome the obstacles in the development of electric buses, Taiwan will have a opportunity to become a key nation in the industry and export electric vehicles overseas,” he said.
The pilot project is also to subsidize electric vehicle purchases by local bus operators, Lin said, adding that the firms can apply until May.
The ministry has budgeted a total of NT$20 billion over four years to increase usage of public transport, including NT$8.5 billion for electric bus development, said Michael Chao (趙晉緯), an official in the Department of Railways and Highways.
The incentives are estimated to spur developments with an output value of NT$170 billion over the next 10 years and create 56,000 jobs, Chao said.
The pilot project was stipulated in November last year to curb air pollution, enhance energy efficiency, offer quality public transportation and develop the electric vehicle industry, the ministry said, adding that it is coordinating the project with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Environmental Protection Administration.
To participate in the project, the two electric vehicle makers passed a two-phase review of their manufacturing expertise and business plans, the MOTC said.
Operators purchasing electric buses from Master Transportation or RAE would be subsidized up to NT$10 million per vehicle, while those buying electric buses from other firms would receive a maximum subsidy of about NT$6.3 million per vehicle.
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