CCTV9英语新闻：Beijing encourages use of clean energy buses

Motor vehicles are the biggest source of pollutants in Beijing. So the city is encouraging the use of clean energy vehicles, including electric buses. 

 

The Division of Electric Buses of Beijing’s Public Transport Group runs almost all the no-track electric buses in the city. It owns about 300 of them, but that makes up only a small fraction of the total number of buses in Beijing. 

 

The blue logo, standing for Electric Vehicle, distinguishes the conventional buses from the green ones by appearance. But the core difference is inside.

 

Most of the new electric buses have two batteries. It usually takes 20 minutes for a full charge. There is another group of electric buses with the old type battery, which needs two hours. 

 

Despite the merits, the 600,000 yuan battery price makes those no-track electric buses 50 percent more expensive than conventional ones. The small number of available charging stations also limits their popularity.

 

Beijing Public Transport Group dominates ownership of buses in the city. Besides the no-track electric buses, it also runs other kinds of environmentally-friendly vehicles, including those fueled by natural gas, and electric buses with tracks. 

 

The group plans to buy 2,400 green buses this year. The number will exceed 10,000 by the end of 2020, making up about 50 percent of the total in Beijing.