Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan on Tuesday said it is time to promote the use of electric vehicles, given the drop in prices.

Announcing the Green Transformation Roadmap of Public Buses and Taxis, Tse said the government will subsidise the purchase of 600 electric buses and 3,000 electric taxis, with invitation letters to be sent to those eligible.

Tse said he believes the incentives will be sufficient to attract operators to opt for electric vehicles.

“Because the prices are coming down very quickly, I believe very soon, electric vehicles will be very competitive against the conventional vehicles. And therefore, the need for further subsidies in future, I believe, will diminish,” he said.

To achieve the aim of all franchised buses and taxis being zero emission vehicles by 2050, the minister said the authorities will review the process in 2027 and then every five years.

Citybus welcomed the government's plan and said it would buy 200 electric buses under the subsidy scheme.

The operator also said it would continue to expand its use of hydrogen buses, and stressed it was committed to achieving zero emission operations.

KMB, meanwhile, said it currently has more than 80 electric buses, and would consider buying more of them.
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Last updated: 2024-12-10 HKT 21:20