Hong Kong’s fire services roll out first electric motorcycles under 5-month pilot scheme
- Pair of battery-powered bikes to be stationed at Ma On Shan and Tai Chik Sha ambulance depots for paramedics handling emergency calls
- Fire Services Department says current 47-strong emergency response motorcycle fleet will be upgraded to new petrol-powered model by year’s end
Hong Kong’s Fire Services Department unveiled its first battery-powered rapid response motorcycles on Tuesday as part of a pilot scheme to test for wider deployment.
The two new bikes would be stationed at Ma On Shan and Tai Chik Sha ambulance depots for five months to handle emergency response dispatches, the department said.
The existing 47-strong emergency response motorcycle fleet would be upgraded to a new petrol-powered model by the year’s end, it added.
Roy Cheng Tsz-wing, the department’s fleet management superintendent, on Monday said they also hoped to switch around 66 of their medium-and-small-sized cars to electric ones over the next five years, including an electric mobile command vehicle.
German manufacturer BMW supplied both new motorcycle models, with the new fuel-powered bikes introduced last year for the country’s own fire and emergency services, he added.
The department said it selected the electric-powered model based on its range and charging time, with the battery able to reach 80 per cent capacity in three hours and 20 minutes using the widely available three-pin 13A power plugs.