Politics

PHOTOS: Erbil offers free electric vehicle rides where cars are still banned in central bazaar

Though the anti-coronavirus ban on cars remains in effect in the city center of the Kurdistan Region's capital of Erbil, the local government is now offering a free passenger service using small, electric vehicles that are much like golf carts to navigate hundreds of markets and other businesses that have reopened.

Mustafa Shilani 2020/05/09 08:27

kurdistan Kurdistan Erbil City Center Erbil citadel

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Though the anti-coronavirus ban on cars remains in effect in the city center of the Kurdistan Region's capital of Erbil, the local government is now offering a free passenger service using small, electric vehicles that are much like golf carts to navigate hundreds of markets and other businesses that have reopened.

“Taking into consideration the roadblocks around Erbil’s main Bazaar, 15 electric cars with drivers have been provided with for everyone, especially for the elderly and those with special needs, who are facing difficulty moving around,” Erbil Municipality head Abdul-Wahid Ahmed told Kurdistan 24.

Electric vehicle rides are now being offered by Erbil's city government as a public transportation service on central market streets where cars are now banned. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has begun to ease its tight curfew restrictions on a phased basis as the result of decreasing coronavirus infections. Officials announced on Friday that they were extending the regionwide curfew until May 10, but it is only now in effect between 7 p.m. and midnight.

Related Article: KRG extends curfew amid uptick in COVID-19 cases

The large busy market area in the center of Erbil that surrounds the ancient Citadel has reopened only for pedestrian traffic, with the new exception of these electric vehicles.

Ahmed explained that the drivers will also provide tours up a steep hill and on top of the sprawling citadel itself, which resembles a small town above the city instead of being a single structure, as one might imagine. It has been passed through Sumerian, Assyrian, Sassanid, Mongol, Christian, and Ottoman hands and is often described as the oldest continuously occupied settlement in the world.

“People frequently want to visit the citadel but face difficulty because of the ascending road,” Ahmed added.

The official pointed out that, because the vehicles are electric, they are not only environmentally friendly but are also extremely quiet. This makes for a stark contrast to the pre-coronavirus central streets of Erbil that were known for being snarled with beeping, gridlocked traffic during office hours and evenings.

“The cars are available from 11 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, and the service will be available as long as it is needed,” Ahmed said, and concluded by stressing that it would be “free of charge for everyone to use.”

Editing by John J. Catherine