Hybrids – in Tokyo?
A decade ago Kyoto in central Japan hosted a summit on environmental issues that has become synonymous with the term ‘Kyoto Protocol’ – an agreement admirable in nature that is still struggling to achieve the reduction of carbon emissions goals it set itself on the global stage.
International co-operation aside though, Japan and the Japanese, by way of her taxis are starting to move in the right direction. Few and far between still, but growing in numbers are the hybrid taxis seen every now and then on the city streets whizzing folks to and from their homes or place of work.
In many areas, not all apparent in the big cities for anyone visiting, Japan really does make the effort to keep things clean as they try to stay as green as possible; think separated garbage as a run-of-the-mill mindset, eco-friendly programs initiated by local governments up and down the country such as the collection of used batteries, the separation and recycling of various forms of containers by supermarkets and convenience stores in a bid to reuse and avoid waste – and now the move by some of the major Japanese taxi firms into hybrid car use.
Environmentalists of any persuasion can surely only be impressed by such a move, which, if oil based fuel costs are taken into account should one day help push down the starting price of 710 yen for the first 2 kilometers, whilst also keeping carbon emissions to a minimum. Here’s hoping!
One of Tokyo's growing band of Hybrid Taxis
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