Today I’m in Shenzhen city in southern China. Shenzhen is one of the most populated city in the country, located in a tropical zone rich in greenery.
In Shenzhen both buses and taxis have a fully battery powered, not hybrid but 100% electric.
In this highly populated city there are about 30000 taxis out of a population of about 13 million people.
I had a pleasant chat with the taxi driver who drove me to the hotel.
The taxi driver in question reaches about 250 km per day for a cost of 50 renminbi.
The charging times of the vehicle are about an hour and a half for a full recharge, full charging allows you to complete 400 Km. So the taxi driver to be able to cover his daily route just a daily recharge of about an hour.
The taxi driver is obviously very happy, because the recharge is short and with a few runs it already totally pays the cost of charging. For example I paid 35 renminbi to get from the station to the hotel (about 10 km).
With this system, rides are not expensive for those who take a taxi, and you can respect the environment and cut the costs of eco-sustainability. In addition, many drivers declare that driving an electric vehicle without clutch and gearbox also has a minor impact on physical effort.