Colombia: EPM will convert 1,000 taxis to CNG for free in Medellín
1,000 taxi drivers in Medellín and the metropolitan area of the Aburrá Valley will be able to convert their vehicles to natural gas without cost, as of June 3, thanks to the initiative led by EPM, Ecopetrol, TGI and Transmetano, with the support of the city of Medellín, Fenalco and 10 allied workshops.
“With the conversion of 1,000 taxis to natural gas, we dot not only contribute to the care of the environment and the quality of the air, but also to the economy of households that find an economic fuel that supports that shared purpose to transform Medellín into an ecocity and add more green kilometers to the Aburrá Valley,” said EPM General Manager Jorge Andrés Carrillo Cardoso.
“We need an Aburrá Valley that reduces greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030, and that is carbon neutral by 2050, which eventually becomes into cleaner air,” said Medellín Mayor Daniel Quintero Calle.
Diego Puyo Mesa, Minister of Mining and Energy, stressed that the conversion of the 1,000 taxis to CNG “is in accordance with one of the angles of the energy transition that is sustainable mobility. Sustainable mobility not only involves electric vehicles, but also zero and low emission fuels. Natural gas is one of those low emission fuels and all this contributes, obviously, to improve air quality, which is one of the most important objectives we have at the national level and also matches with interest at the local level.”
In order to access the benefit, the taxi must be model 2018 onwards and enrolled in one of the 10 municipalities of the Aburrá Valley metropolitan area (Medellín, Caldas, La Estrella, Sabaneta, Envigado, Itagüí, Bello, Copacabana, Girardota and Barbosa) The benefit of the free conversion will be delivered to the first 1,000 taxis that meet the requirements and apply at the program’s 10 allied workshops.
