NYC is "Green" Apple with Hybrid Taxis

[cal04]

Six hybrid taxis -- that get double the gas mileage of traditional cabs and generate far less pollution -- are rolling on New York's streets. Taxi fleet owner Gene Freidman said he plans to have 18 hybrid cabs on the street by Thanksgiving. City Councilman David Yassky predicts thousands more will follow.

The small SUV cabs run on a combination of gas and electricity and generally emit no exhaust when they are moving slower than 25 mph. They drive the same as regular cabs and never have to be recharged.

But passengers can expect less leg room and a narrower back seat bench than the big Ford Crown Victorias that make up the bulk of the city's fleet. Some cabbies may also balk at the lack of a security barrier between the front and back seats. There wasn't enough room, to include the partitions.

Freidman says he only got interested after the city offered a chance to buy new taxi medallions for alternative-fuel vehicles at a deep discount. Under the deal, Freidman and two business partners purchased 18 of the licenses at a savings of about $170,000 each -- more than enough to offset the extra six-thousand-dollar cost of buying a hybrid.

http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_315074906.html

[dennisnyc]

1. 6 or 18 out of 12,000 is a start, but....

lacking a security barrier may slow the process.
People may forget it but from time to time taxi driver ARE still stabbed, shot, etc in NYC.

i'm just saying....

[trogdor]

2. Well, I'd drive one in Manhattan only.

And only during the day.

Seriously, though. You'd think there was somebody out there that could fix these problems.

[LynneSin]

4. There's a company in NJ making Fuel Cells....

...and they have a Lincoln Continental & Ford Explorer running on these technologies.

Plus Lexus has a Hybrid SUV.

If taxi companies made a demand by pushing for alternative/hybrid technology the auto manufacturers would produce the cars. With the miles put on a typical NYC Taxi, the additional cost at purchases would surely be recovered in the savings at the gas tank!

[LynneSin]

3. could you imagine the money & lungs saved by going totally hybrid?

Or better yet - using Fuel Cell technology which runs on Hydrogen instead of gasoline.

I recognize that these technologies might not play well out in rural america. But think of the savings made if all taxis were required to go Fuel Cell technology in major urban areas (this would be city laws - not federal laws). I say instead of hybrids they should go with Fuel Cells. The only requirement would be a Hydrogen filling station which could be a centralized fill station within the city. You'd put a grandfather clause into the law which says that you can keep the current taxis you have, but when one is replaced the new one has to have alternative fuels.

Not only would the taxi companies save money since these cars would use less gas, but the smog would be reduced drastically from the better fuel economy!