The National Development Council on Monday approved a seven-year NT$64.3 billion (US$2.11 billion) plan to ensure that every bus and coach in Taiwan is electric by 2030.
The program aims to decarbonize public transport nationwide between next year and 2030 as part of government efforts to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, the council said.
Public bus and long-distance coach operators would receive subsidies of NT$3.34 million for each purchase of an electric vehicle to help them quickly phase out diesel vehicles, the council said.
Photo: Tsai Szu-pei, Taipei Times
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications proposed the rules.
The subsidy might reach as high as NT$3.7 million for each new electric vehicle to encourage public transportation operators to adopt an energy management system, the council said.
Once the electric buses and coaches hit the road, operators would receive an additional NT$1.6 million per vehicle for follow-up operations, it said, adding that the draft program is to be presented to the Cabinet for approval.
A national network of charging stations would be built with cooperation from local governments and Taiwan Power Co, ministry officials said.
As of February, there were 1,190 registered large electric passenger vehicles across Taiwan — 1,161 public buses and 29 coaches, which run on freeways.
Taiwan is expected to replace 12,170 diesel buses with electric buses by 2030.
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