All About Alternate Fuel Vehicles (AFV)

Source: LivingInPeru.com / 10 Jan 2008
http://www.livinginperu.com/news-5459-transportation-taxi-drivers-peru
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Peru’s President Alan Garcia has made it clear that one of his administration’s main goals is to shift the country’s dependency from oil to natural gas. In an effort to achieve this goal, the government is to renew its public transportation system with natural gas buses and has begun the “Mi Taxi” program. President Garcia presented the 500th Chevy Corsa to its new proud owner last month. With just under $3,000, taxi drivers in Lima are qualifying for loans and have been purchasing the vehicles that run on natural gas.

The Chevy Corsa, which comes with a factory warranty and equipped to run on natural gas, is the only model offered by the Mi Taxi program. The 250 thousand taxi drivers in Lima and Callao will now be able to choose from a greater variety of vehicles with the next shipment of Nissans, Fiats and Volkswagens, said Jorge Juárez, the general manager of the Peruvian Chamber of Natural Gas for Vehicles.

The aim of the three car companies is to import vehicles specifically for taxi drivers as soon as possible and replace the Chevy Corsa as the only new natural gas car driven by Peru’s cabbies. Since taxi drivers can pay 50 soles a day to rent their vehicles, they should not have a problem purchasing a new vehicle with a $3,000 down payment - like they have done with Mi Taxi; therefore, they have attracted the attention of car companies, affirmed Juárez.