Asia Pulse. Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province in North China, plans to have all taxis and public transit vehicles converted to LNG use by the end of 2005.

The city plans to build 20 LNG filling stations by the end of June 2005 to meet the needs of 500 public transit buses and 4,500 taxi cabs. There are now about 220,000 motor vehicles in Shijiazhuang city, increasing at an annual rate of some 15%.

Hebei province wraps around Beijing (see map at right), which is about 250 km northeast of Shijiazhuang.

Beijing introduced the use of LNG-fueled transit buses in China in 2003 through a deal with Cummins Westport.