Taxis in Japan are very clean and have a good reputation for being honest and polite. The standards are by far one of the best in the world, if not is the best in the world. Taxis usually get a lot of negative comments hurled at them since many taxis around the world are not well maintained, try to cheat the passengers or the taxi drivers are rude or have an attitude problem.
The strange thing about taxis in Japan is that they use very old Toyota Crowns. Unlike Australia and many other countries where the Toyota Prius is used as a taxi. Why Japan does not use the Prius or any hybrid as a taxi? It is far more fuel efficient that the current Toyota Crown. It is also cleaner since the emissions from the new Prius is cleaner than the old Toyota Crown.
The Toyota Crown is a big car no doubt and the luggage space is good but it is also very old. Many of the taxis are well over 10 years old and some even reaching 20 years old. Since Japan is the creator of the hybrid concept and they sell hybrid cars all over the world, why don't they use it as their taxi fleet?
It is just like Japan still likes to use the fax machine rather than email. It is like they have been stuck in a time warp and only progress and innovate on selected things.
Thursday 30 July 2015
Wednesday 29 July 2015
UAE motoring
Driving in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) is an interesting experience. The roads there are by far the best in the world with ultra smooth highways and very well paved roads all around. The speed limits are also a little higher with some tolerance of up to 140km/h on some sections.
The fuel price is also incredibly cheap at UAE$1.71 per litre for Ron 95 gasoline. The cars there are also very cheap and you can easily pick up a VW Touarag for US$40k!! One would easily spot an exotic car any time of the day. If you would sit in front of the Movenpick hotel at Jumeira walk you would see a steady stream of Lambos, Ferraris, Corvettes, Rolls Royce, Aston Martins, Mercedes SLS, Mclarens and etc. What you can think of you can see it there.
It sounds like a motoring paradise where fuel is cheap and cars are cheap and good roads to drive on. One can even see a Ferrari or Lambo park out in the sun day after day as this is normal for them. Cars are cheap enough for them to do that. Most of the people dont care about fuel since it is so cheap. However the cheap fuel is about to end. Recently the Minister of Environment in UAE announced that they will float the fuel price to follow the rest of the world. This means that they will no longer enjoy very cheap fuel. As one would have guessed having such cheap fuel now many of the residence would buy big engine cars or gas guzzlers since it cost them so little to fuel up the car.
The aim of floating the fuel price is to pull it in line with the rest of the world and reduce wastage and protect their diminishing fuel supply. The oil supply will not last forever and it would be a matter of time before the oil runs out. The Minister of Environment also cited that air pollution is getting worst each year since there are so many cars in such a small country.
The fuel price is also incredibly cheap at UAE$1.71 per litre for Ron 95 gasoline. The cars there are also very cheap and you can easily pick up a VW Touarag for US$40k!! One would easily spot an exotic car any time of the day. If you would sit in front of the Movenpick hotel at Jumeira walk you would see a steady stream of Lambos, Ferraris, Corvettes, Rolls Royce, Aston Martins, Mercedes SLS, Mclarens and etc. What you can think of you can see it there.
It sounds like a motoring paradise where fuel is cheap and cars are cheap and good roads to drive on. One can even see a Ferrari or Lambo park out in the sun day after day as this is normal for them. Cars are cheap enough for them to do that. Most of the people dont care about fuel since it is so cheap. However the cheap fuel is about to end. Recently the Minister of Environment in UAE announced that they will float the fuel price to follow the rest of the world. This means that they will no longer enjoy very cheap fuel. As one would have guessed having such cheap fuel now many of the residence would buy big engine cars or gas guzzlers since it cost them so little to fuel up the car.
The aim of floating the fuel price is to pull it in line with the rest of the world and reduce wastage and protect their diminishing fuel supply. The oil supply will not last forever and it would be a matter of time before the oil runs out. The Minister of Environment also cited that air pollution is getting worst each year since there are so many cars in such a small country.
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