The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has endorsed a contract for procuring 554 environment-friendly hybrid vehicles. These vehicles, which are fitted with a combination of fuel engine and electric motors, currently constitute about 11% of the fleet of the Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC). The move is part of a masterplan to curb pollution from vehicle exhausts and make vehicles environmentally friendly in Dubai. By the end of this year, the DTC aims to increase the number of hybrid vehicles to 17% of its taxi fleet, which currently comprises of 503 vehicles.
The RTA had endorsed a plan for converting 50% of Dubai taxicabs into hybrid vehicles by 2021. The move is part of a plan to fulfil the requirements of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the Green Economy drive. The plan anticipated a rise in the number of hybrid vehicles in Dubai from 147 vehicles in 2015 to 791 in 2016, and further jump to 1582 vehicles by 2017. It forecasts an increase in the number of hybrid taxis to 2375 vehicles by 2018, then to 3167 vehicles by 2019, and continue to grow to 3959 vehicles by 2020, and rise to as much as 4750 vehicles by 2021. The DTC is set to have the largest share of hybrid taxis in Dubai totalling 2280 vehicles, followed by CARS (900 vehicles), National Taxi (812 vehicles), Arabia Taxi (463 vehicles), METRO Taxi (377 vehicles), and City Taxi (18 vehicles).