Yandex Taxi to explore increasing share of natural gas vehicles in partner taxi fleets
MOSCOW. Dec 20 (Interfax) - Yandex Taxi will explore the possibility of increasing the share of methane-powered cars to improve the environmental situation in cities where its partner taxi fleets operate.
This initiative is part of a four-party agreement on expanding the use of natural gas as a motor fuel for taxis which was signed at the 4th All-Russian Gas-Engine Forum in Kaliningrad, Gazprom Gas-Engine Fuel said.
The document was signed by Gazprom Gas-Engine Fuel LLC Acting General Director Oleg Grechanyukov, Yandex Taxi Commercial Group Head Alexei Murashov, Information Fuel Systems General Director Igor Merkulov and Gazprom Gas-Engine Systems General Director Sergei Kolin.
The document also stipulates that Gazprom Gas-Engine Fuel will continue to develop convenient gas refueling infrastructure and implement incentive programs for converting vehicles to natural gas, with a focus on taxi owners.
Gazprom Gas-Engine Systems will ensure the production and supply of certified gas cylinder equipment for converting taxis to methane. It will also produce mobile automotive gas refuelers to establish a mobile gas refueling infrastructure.
Information Fuel Systems will provide potential buyers with access to the gas-engine equipment market GBO.RF for purchasing vehicles through various marketing programs and will digitize all documentation processes related to converting vehicles to natural gas.
"Taxi services are among the most active segments in using natural gas (methane) vehicles. About 7% of taxis run on methane in Russia. Over the past two years, the top five regions for gas-engine vehicles in this segment include the Kaliningrad region, Saint Petersburg, Perm Territory, the Rostov region and the Nizhny Novgorod region," Gazprom Gas-Engine Systems said.
The growing interest in natural gas for taxis is reflected in the statistics of vehicle conversions to methane, gas industry representatives said. Over the past 10 years, with investments from Gazprom Gas-Engine Fuel, nearly 78,000 vehicles have been converted, a third of which are taxis. This trend has continued in 2024, with 3,500 taxis out of 9,000 vehicles converted to methane by the end of November.
A total of 490 partner taxi fleets are interested in expanding the use of methane as motor fuel, Yandex Taxi said. The potential for increasing the share of natural gas vehicles stands at 6,000 cars.
Experts estimate that switching a passenger car from AI-95 gasoline to methane can save a taxi fleet an average of 270,000 rubles per year.
Greenhouse gas emissions from methane-powered vehicles are 41% lower than diesel fuel and 50% lower than gasoline. Pollutant emissions are 66% lower than diesel and 83% lower than gasoline, Gazprom Gas-Engine Fuel said.