It can be rather depressing when we actually stop and think about the damage we do as individuals to this planet and its precious resources with our cars. Granted, there are worse offenders out there – ships, planes and flatulent cattle – but the amount of carbon dioxide we dump into the atmosphere every day with even the most fuel-efficient cars is pretty scary.
One alternative for those of us with a conscience has always been public transport. Buses, trains, taxis – whatever is able to replace an individual car journey for more than a solitary passenger – they all make a very real difference to the air we breathe and our dwindling fossil fuel reserves. But one UAE taxi operator, the brilliantly named Cars Taxi, has taken a potentially gigantic leap in the name of pollution prevention. Last week it took delivery of 28 brand new hybrid Toyota Camrys.
In partnership with Al-Futtaim Motors, which owns the Toyota franchise here, under the banner “Pioneers for a Better Tomorrow”, Cars Taxi has become the fist company in the UAE to operate a hybrid fleet – something that brings this nation into line with several others that are serious about (literally) cleaning up their act.
Abdullah Sultan, the executive director for Cars Taxi, said at a handing over ceremony in Dubai last week: “As an operator of over 4,000 taxis, we feel privileged to be the UAE’s first private company to own hybrid cars. We are working hard to ensure that our efforts help support the vision of the UAE Government who are looking to create a more sustainable mobility network and help reduce our society’s carbon footprint.
“The excellent reputation, durability, low cost of ownership and superior green credentials of the Toyota Hybrid Camry were certainly big selling points for us.”
The hybrid Camry combines an internal combustion engine with electric power courtesy of a bank of batteries. It harnesses energy otherwise wasted when braking and channels it back to the hybrid powertrain, which only calls upon the engine when either the batteries are empty or more power is required. The upshot is that, at low speeds anyway, there are no exhaust emissions because the cars run entirely on electricity.
Al-Futtaim has previous form with this, having supplied Dubai Taxi Corporation with a fleet of 20 hybrid Camrys. This followed a three-year trial run on 10 vehicles, which resulted in a 33 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency and a 33 per cent reduction of CO2 emissions. When you consider the fact that there are tens of thousands of taxis roaming the roads of the UAE, it doesn’t take long to realise the positive impact this would have if they were all hybrids.
Of course, hybrids do have their detractors who waste no time in pointing out that battery disposal is also an environmental nightmare. But consider that these taxis rack up intergalactic distances during their operational lives and the benefits must surely outweigh the negatives. Cars Taxi also reckons the hybrid power trains make for more reliability. And more reliability is good for any business that relies on vehicles.
Another pollutant these cars could claim to be doing away with is that of unwanted noise. And, while this is commendable and worthy, there is also one major drawback when these cars are making use of silent, pollution-free propulsion: if you can’t hear them coming as you cross the road, then how are you going to get out of their way?
Fortunately, if they’re driving on battery power alone, they won’t be going very quickly. But it’s only a matter of time before someone, somewhere, ends up a casualty because of a planet-saving measure, although they’ll at least be able to take some solace from the fact that their legs were sacrificed for the greater good.
[ khackett@thenational.ae ]
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