schipholcreativecommons.com/Simone Richter

Travellers flying into Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport now have one less reason to feel guilty about their carbon footprint.

Green taxi organisations BIOS-groep and BBF SchipholTaxi have taken charge of all taxi services departing the airport, which means the introduction of 168 fully electric taxis: an environmental success for the taxi industry, the airport and certainly also for Amsterdam.

The City of Amsterdam supported this development through its subsidy scheme for cleaner taxis and the introduction of charging points, both on its own premises and in public areas.

An estimated 85 percent of taxi journeys departing from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol are destined for Amsterdam, which equates to in excess of 1,600 taxis arriving in the city from the airport every day. By introducing the electric taxi services, the airport and taxi organisations are making a significant contribution to improving air quality in Amsterdam and raising awareness of electric transport (especially within the taxi industry).

The average Amsterdam taxi operating on diesel fuel produces a similar amount of emissions as 35 private cars. Introducing electric cars that do not discharge pollutants considerably helps to improve air quality.