The southern port city of Shenzhen — sometimes referred to as “China’s Silicon Valley” thanks to its capacity for hardware manufacturing innovation — has just become the first city in the world to completely electrify its public bus system. According to local paper Shenzhen Daily:

The city is also home to the largest fleet of electric buses — 16,359 so far — and electric taxis in the world, the [Shenzhen transport] commission said at a press conference. A total of 12,518 taxis, or 62.5 percent of all taxis in the city, run on electricity.

“We will gradually replace the existing fuel-powered cabs with electricity-powered ones and complete the target by 2020, or even ahead of schedule,” said Zheng Jingyu, head of the public transport department of the city’s public transport administration bureau.

One of Shenzhen’s 510 bus charging stations (source)

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Cover image: EyeShenzhen