STOCKHOLM, May 29 (Xinhua) -- A new environmentally-friendly vehicle, called as "taxi-pod," is now in Stockholm's taxi service, Swedish public television broadcaster SVT reported Monday.
So far, 18 of these electric capsule-shaped "taxi-pods" have been approved onto the streets of Stockholm. And in the first four days, the pods made 1,000 trips.
But the owners, BZZt, hope to make as many as 200 available by the end of the year.
"It's fantastic and way more than we dreamed of," Sven Wolf, CEO of BZZt, said.
Travelling at a maximum speed of 45 km an hour and costing about 34 U.S. cents per 100 meters, these small taxis are intended for short trips in the inner city.
The small taxi cars are classed as EU mopeds. They take two passengers and can be driven all year round. Initially, the pods will roll around the inner city, with the exception of the island of Sodermalm, SVT reported.
"Stockholm will be the first to use these vehicles. Then we'll see how we proceed in the rest of the world," Wolf said.
