The first consignment of 34 e-Buses are almost ready for use and are part of the total 100 due to arrive over the next two years. The Japan International Cooperation Agency is supporting the project in an effort to help the town become greener and improve air quality.
In Luang Prabang, media sources say each vehicle has a capacity of six passengers but this may be lower for Western tourists as they tend to be bigger than the average Lao person. The flag fare for journeys is LAK3,000 (THB13) although sources say Westerners may have to pay a little extra as they take up more room.
Pollution has been a problem at certain times of year in Luang Prabang since historic times. Burning rice paddy after harvest time and the smoke of fires for cooking used to be the main causes. The issue has been exacerbated more recently by the exhaust fumes of tuktuks, diesel lorries as well as engines that rarely, if ever, see mechanics.
Luang Prabang tuktuks to go green with electric
News in Asia
Authorities in the northern Lao heritage town of Luang Prabang are set to roll out a new fleet of electric tuktuks. The first batch of the innovative e-Buses are about to hit the streets of this UNESCO World Heritage Site and environmentalists say they hope pollution problems in the surrounding valley will be alleviated.