Austria goes back to the future

Vienna is famous for its horse-drawn “Fiaker” carriages. Now the electric utility company Wien Energie is introducing a similar-but-different specimen that lacks one very visible detail: the horses.

The carriages launched at the charging station near the illustrious Vienna Burgtheater are actually not new at all. Although the motors will no doubt show one or two improvements, the carriages are based on exactly those vehicles that whirred around city streets until 1910 before they were squeezed out by their fossil-fuelled counterparts.

Wir verbinden Wiener Tradition mit modernder Nachhaltigkeit!
Der erste E-Fiaker ist in Wien angekommen und tankt natürlich auch 100% Ökostrom bei fast 500 Ladestellen. E-Mobilität muss nicht immer nur E-Auto heißen. pic.twitter.com/Il922Ccy2P

— Wien Energie (@WienEnergie) October 14, 2019

Translated from German, the tweet says: “We combine Viennese tradition with modern sustainability! The first E-Fiaker has arrived in Vienna. The carriages are naturally charged with 100% green electricity at almost 500 charging stations. E-mobility doesn’t always have to be an e-car.”

These old fashioned new carriages can transport up to eight people (including the driver) with an output of 16 kW and a top speed of 25 km/h. The E-Fiaker is not meant to compete with carriages with horses, or to constitute a taxi service but will be used to promote electric charging points at events, where the decorative and elegant old carriages will take their passengers on tours.

vienna.at (in German)