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Students of Konkuk University in Seoul look at the ’Solar Taxi’ on their campus. Driver Louis Palmer gave a presentation at the university. / Yonhap |
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Cab rides in gas-guzzling taxis are becoming more expensive due to the increasing oil prices. That's making the gasoline-free Swiss "Solar Taxi" more than a mere spectacle.
The tiny blue taxi, pulling a trailer equipped with solar panels, arrived in Korea on May 31. Korea is the 26th stop of the green automobile's world tour. The car's capacity is quite small, allowing for only one passenger next to the driver.
In a press conference at the Swiss Embassy in Seoul, Tuesday, the driver Louis Palmer, a Swiss national, said that he set out on a global tour with his Solar Taxi to raise public awareness on global warming and climate change.
This environment-friendly car has big potential: it runs exclusively on electricity, half of which is generated by a six square-meter large solar panel on its trailer. The other half of the electricity comes from two rechargeable batteries.
Batteries take up to six hours to recharge. It could run 300 kilometers with a maximum speed of 90 kilometers per hour. The cost for each recharge is only 2,100 won, Palmer said.
Battery chargers are available at Swiss embassies around the world.
Philipp Stadler, counselor and deputy head of the Swiss Embassy, said he welcomed the "Solar Taxi" initiative and said it was an affirmation of a "long Swiss tradition of caring for the environment."
Swiss people have some of most innovative and active minds when it comes to environmental protection.
The tradition traces back to the 1970s when a candidate from the Swiss Green Party was first elected to the Swiss parliament, Stadler said.
In the 1990s, trucks were banned on mountain roads. Road construction was also prohibited in mountainous areas for the same purpose.
A group of Swiss researchers recently invented a grasshopper-inspired jumping micro-robot.
It's powered by rechargeable solar cells that can explore rough or inaccessible terrain, according to the Science Daily, a U.S. publication.
Earlier this year, Yale University ranked Switzerland the greenest country in the world.
The ambassador attributed it to a unique political system that enables a direct public engagement in policy-making process.
The embassy arranged presentations for the Solar Taxi at Korean universities, including Konkuk University in Seoul, Inha University in Incheon and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon.
Palmer was invited to a ceremony to mark the World Environment Day on June 5. He gave trial rides for the general public gathered at the Seoul Plaza.
He said it works very well, like a precision Swiss watch. It broke down only three times during the entire trip of 11 months.
Palmer's journey began in Lucerne, Switzerland, last July. He has been driving through Europe, the Middle East, Australia and China before arriving in Korea.
He will stay in Korea until Tuesday before leaving for Vancouver, Canada.
skim@koreatimes.co.kr
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yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
