State-owned Chunghwa Post Co. Ltd. officially commissioned 1,627 electric scooters for use as delivery vehicles Jan. 15 as part of larger government efforts to curb air pollution and promote environmentally friendly solutions.
The e-scooters will operate in locations across the nation, from the northern Taiwan cities of Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan to Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, in addition to eastern Taiwan’s Yilan County and outlying Penghu County. Chunghwa Post said another 600 e-scooters will be purchased for use in Tainan City, Taichung City and Hsinchu County in southern, central and northern Taiwan, respectively, by the end of this year.
Also on Jan. 15, the postal service announced a six-year plan in which it will spend NT$650 million (US$22 million) to replace some 9,000 two-wheeled and 2,000 four-wheeled delivery vehicles. The company anticipates that fully replacing its fossil fuel-powered scooters will reduce its annual carbon emissions by 2,916 tons.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony in Taipei, Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan said these efforts are important components in the nation’s drive toward sustainability. He added that the steps being taken by the postal service are helping develop the local e-transportation sector as a whole.
Chunghwa Post expressed hope that more public and private agencies will actively seek to address environmental issues by finding sustainable solutions, adding that this is in line with Taiwan’s goal of phasing out sales of nonelectric motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles by 2035 and 2040, respectively.
The target dates for eliminating sales of fossil fuel-powered vehicles were announced Dec. 21, 2017, as part of a multipronged action plan aimed at reducing air pollution drafted by the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration. Other measures in the EPA initiative include a 50 percent reduction in air quality red alert days by 2019 and the replacement of all government vehicles and public buses with electric versions by 2030. (KWS-E)
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