This project served as a preparation for the implementation of eTaxis in Vienna in the near future.

A Wiener Stadtwerke project is bringing hundreds of eTaxis to Vienna’s streets from March 2016. waff and AMS are assisting with the search for taxi drivers.

Wiener Stadtwerke’s eTaxi project has won an Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (bmvit) tender and is one of the world’s largest e-taxi projects. In two years’ time, a total of 250 eTaxis will be on Vienna’s roads. This represents almost double the electric cars registered in Vienna and around five percent of all Vienna’s taxis.

Vienna’s taxi companies are being offered numerous incentives to convert their taxis to 100% electric power. There is Austrian Ministry funding of EUR 8,000 per vehicle to purchase an electric car. Wien Energie is providing ten rapid charging stations throughout the city and offering eTaxi drivers free electricity for their first year of operation. And last but not least, the Vienna Employment Promotion Fund (waff) is specifically supporting the project with training and job guarantees. There are already around 50 eTaxi drivers. Another 200 are still being sought.

Deputy Mayor, Renate Brauner: “I’m particularly pleased that Wiener Stadtwerke’s eTaxi project is not only contributing to environmental protection and quality of life in Vienna, but also offering new job opportunities for Vienna’s job-seekers. What’s special about this programme is that there’s the promise of a permanent job for anyone successfully completing the selection process and then commencing training.”

More than three million euros government funding

Wiener Stadtwerke’s eTaxi project was awarded over three million euros of bmvit funding at the end of May 2015. The funding was agreed following a selection process by an independent panel of international experts.

Minister of Transport, Alois Stöger: “With the ‘eMobility for all: urban eMobility’ programme, we’re supporting projects such as eTaxi Wien that promote the widespread use of e-mobility, so that as many people as possible can experience electric vehicles, simply and inexpensively, thereby lending additional impetus to e-mobility. Thanks to eTaxis, a taxi journey should become a useful, established addition to public transport or an alternative to using your own car. From 2018, it should be completely natural to take an eTaxi.”

Support with finding and training eTaxi drivers

waff and the Austrian Public Employment Service (AMS) are specifically helping firms seek and train future eTaxi drivers. This offers Vienna’s job-seekers the opportunity to take up a new profession. This applies to both older job-seeking taxi drivers, and job-seekers who aim to qualify as a taxi driver as part of the waff “Jobs with training” programme.

In practical terms, waff is helping with the search and preliminary selection of applicants who want to acquire a taxi permit and drive a new eTaxi, and funding up to EUR 1,000 of training costs per person. AMS is also helping eTaxi companies by putting them in touch with job-seeking taxi drivers. There are attractive wage subsidies when recruiting older job-seeking drivers.

This year alone, the “Jobs with training” programme will allow a total of around 1,000 of Vienna’s job-seekers to qualify to return to work in industries with a specific requirement for specialised staff.

Attractive incentives for eTaxi businesses

The eTaxi project offers taxi firms the opportunity to switch to affordable, environmentally-friendly electric vehicles and thereby get prepared for the future. There is attractive funding and a Wien Energie rapid charging network specially designed for Vienna’s taxi operators. As an additional incentive, the first 120 eTaxis will receive free electricity from the Wien Energie rapid charging stations for a year, and attractive rates for their on-going use.

During the first phase of the project, ten charging points will be spread throughout the city. During phase 2, with up to 250 eTaxis by 2018, further charging points will be made available.

Contact

Mag. Harald Wakolbinger

Neue Urbane Mobilität Wien GmbH

E-Mail: info@etaxi-wien.at

Website: www.etaxi-wien.at