Sharjah switches 1600 taxis to natural gas

At least 1,600 taxis in Sharjah will be converted to run on natural gas instead of petrol within the next two years. Sharjah Transport Corporation (STC) said yesterday that 800 cabs would be converted this year, with 800 more going green in 2014 as natural gas emits less emissions and is more efficient than petrol. STC plans to convert all cabs by 2015. Abdullah Al Zarri, director general of STC, said it had reached an agreement with the four franchised taxi companies that operated in the emirate to change the colour of their cars, according to the National. All taxis will now be painted white but with different colour roofs so customers can tell the companies apart.”The other parts of the taxis would be white but the top can be green as for Union Taxi or pink as for Advantage Taxi,” said Al Zarri. He added that STC had successfully moved into its Dh55 million headquarters in Al Azra this year. Meanwhile, the Sharjah Public Works Department has approved the construction of three pedestrian bridges at a cost of Dh11m to help reduce the number of pedestrian deaths. The first bridge is to be built next to Ansar Mall, linking Mamzar and Al Nahda. The second bridge will be over King Abdul Aziz Street between Bu Danig and Abu Shagara, while the third will be built over King Faisal Road between Majaz 1 and Abu Shagara.