TEHRAN — People in the city of Tehran will be able to pay taxi fares electronically by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2018).

Currently, passengers are able to pay taxi fares electronically in some neighborhoods and soon all taxis will be equipped with e-pay system, Tehran transport fleet vice chairman Shahryar Afandizadeh said on Sunday.

On the subject of scrappage of clunker taxis, Afandizadeh explained that some 11,583 old taxis were scraped and replaced by new models last year, Mehr reported.

He further expressed hope that Peykan taxis (very old, high-emission cars which are not being manufactured anymore) will be completely scrapped and replaced by low-emission cars.

“Out of 17,000 Peykan taxis only 960 are remaining,” he said.

Peyman Sanandaji, Tehran bus operating company's director general, also highlighted that some out of 6,227 buses in Tehran transport fleet some 4,258 are out of order.

We are short of some 3,000 buses in Tehran and despite the fact that some 8,653 buses are needed for public transportation in the city there are merely 6,227 buses of which 4,258 are out of order, Sanandaji regretted.

Tehran persistent air pollution, mostly hitting the city during cold seasons, is blamed on numerous factors namely clunkers, sand mines, sand and dust storms originating from dried up wetlands, pollutant industries, carburetor motorcycles, etc.

MQ/MG