Hong Kong/Tokyo: Taxis are convenient daily transportation for the citizens in Hong Kong. About 18,000 taxis operating in the city are sedan type vehicles having limited trunk space. This makes it difficult for wheelchair users.
Nissan Motor recently unveiled a new generation taxi for Hong Kong. It offers an innovative functional cabin that unites comfort with hospitality.
Shiro Nagai, a senior manager (Communications) with Nissan Global Co., Ltd., said, “This NV200 will make an important contribution to Hong Kong society, and providing mobility to all people in Hong Kong.”
The new taxi offers barrier-free access to users realised by a universal design layout. Wheelchair users may benefit from the new concept who can easily roll on and off the taxi through the back door using an attached slope.
The new taxi is based on the Nissan NV200, a multi-purpose commercial vehicle, that is sold throughout the world.
More than 750 units are already operating in Japan, recently launched in New York City and EV model in Barcelona as the next-generation taxi.
The NV200 taxi is powered by both gasoline and LPG. This bi-fuel system is common in Europe and comes to Hong Kong for the first time.
The new bi-fuel system is economical and reduces approximately 80 percent of NOx from the emission compared to conventional mono-fuel LPG models.
The new taxi launch was celebrated with several groups, including Direction Association for the Handicapped, which provides assistance to the elderly and rehabilitation services for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
Lee Yuen Tai, the chairman of the Direction Association for the Handicapped, said, “This barrier-free new design of taxi offers a lot of more choices to the wheel chair persons to get to the places that they want to go without difficulty.”
Yim Chor Pik, vice-chairman of the Direction Association for the Handicapped, said, “Until now, it was very difficult to ride the taxi, This universal designed taxi saves me a lot, it makes very easily to ride the taxi without removing off the wheelchair.”
Nagai said, “Nissan would like to offer a new value for the daily transportation to the rapidly aging Hong Kong society, by utilizing our experiences gained in Japan,and this new universal design taxi approved by our customer.”
Approximately 15% of people in Hong Kong are over 65-years-old of their age and the number is expected to be doubled by 2040.