Taxis suitable for disabled people unveiled by Nissan

Taxis are convenient daily transportation for the citizens in Hong Kong. About 18,000 taxis operating in the city are sedan type of vehicles having limited trunk space.

Nissan Motor recently unveiled a new generation of Taxis for Hong Kong. It offers an innovative functional cabin that unites comfort with hospitality.

"This NV200 will make an important contribution to Hong Kong society providing mobility to all people in Hong Kong," said Shiro Nagai, Senior Manager, communications, Nissan Global Co. Ltd.

The new taxi offers barrier-free access to the users realized by the universal design layout.

The wheelchair users may benefit from this new concept as they can easily roll on and off the taxi through the back door using an attached slope.

The new taxi is based on Nissan NV200, a multi-purpose commercial vehicle that is sold throughout the world.

More than 750 units are already operating in Japan.

The NV200 taxi is powered by both gasoline and LPG. This bi-fuel system is common in Europe.

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.

"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," said Lee Yuen Tai, Chairman of the Direction Association for the Handicapped.

"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," said Yim Chor Pik, Vice Chair of the Direction Association for the Handicapped.

" 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," added Shiro Nagai, Senior manager, Communications, Nissan Global Co. Ltd.

Approximately 15 percent of the people in Hong Kong are over 65 years old and the number is expected to double by 2040. Nissan taxis will be a boon for the aging population in Hong Kong.

The service is to send a variety of driving data such as speed, location, time and fuel from the small device in the car.

"The service is called "Telematics". It's invented word, combination of "telecommunication" and informatics," said Masashi Takemura, General Manager, Risk Consulting Department, Orix Auto Corporation.

The user can easily check the statistical data on telematics website. For example, you can see the data of "abrupt acceleration" for a month.

"When the company uses cars on business, they necessarily have to take corporate social responsibility (CSR). They need to visualize how their cars are used for the compliance of driving rules, eco-friendly driving and above all for safety driving. Telematics service started to meet those needs," added Masashi Takemura, General Manager, Risk Consulting Department, Orix Auto Corporation.

The service is used by about 1,500 companies including big nationwide companies.

"The number of "over speeding" on expressway decreased to almost zero. Sudden braking decreased to 1/3. Abrupt acceleration decreased by 80 percent, which means the fuel efficiency has improved," said Yuuji Iida, Director, General Affairs Department, KAO Customer Marketing Co. Ltd.

The device also plays the role of communication tool. The manager, who checks the data, and the employee have more communication as a result of which the corporate culture has improved.