click above image to view a sample of NYC's fleet of hybrid taxis
Mayor Mike Bloomberg has announced a plan to require that all New York taxis be hybrids by 2012. This bid to greatly reduce the environmental impact of the 13,000 strong yellow cab fleet, is part of the city's larger plaNYC long-term sustainability program, which also includes the mayor's controversial congestion pricing proposal. Currently, there are around 400 hybrids patrolling for fares in New York's urban canyons. Among them are the Ford Escape Hybrid (above), the Toyota Prius, the Lexus LX400h (we've seen one), the Toyota Highlander, at least one Saturn Vue Green Line, and others.
Mayor Mike says that fuel economy requirements for medallion-seekers will increase to 25mpg in October 2008. In '09 the minimum rises to 30 mpg and also requires that the new cabs be hybrids. While the mayor's announcement formalizes things, we'd spoken to someone who purchased a medallion in the last year who told us that the writing was already on the wall regarding the hybrids. More and more medallions going up for auction were hybrid-only.
According to the Mayor, the financial sting associated with operators being required to shell out extra cash to purchase the greener vehicles should be defrayed by their associated fuel cost savings. AP puts that number at $10,000 per year when comparing a hybrid to a traditionally-powered taxi. And really, taxi duty in a highly-congested, stop-and-go urban environment like New York is the perfect scenario for a hybrid drivetrain, where the fuel-saving and emissions-cutting features are going to be maximized.
The only thing now is, maybe they should just paint 'em all green...
[Source: AP]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
psipwrd @ May 22nd 2007 3:04PM
Does this mean cab rides will cost less?
3cubedminus3squared @ May 22nd 2007 3:07PM
Is that really what cab drivers look like?
*The guy in the Prius*
kingvolcano @ May 22nd 2007 3:09PM
It's official...with a statement like that, Bloom is running for president.
Replay @ May 22nd 2007 3:14PM
#2
Yes..if you live in Vancouver which is where that picture was taken.
ItGuy @ May 22nd 2007 3:15PM
Mayor Mike was on the Today show this AM promoting this and for #1. No.
Personally, I think they will go up and I hope that in the long run things work out - there are still a LOT of unknows WRT hybrids. Like batteries.
John Neff @ May 22nd 2007 3:18PM
I made the gallery, and just thought that since movie directors use Canadian cities to double for U.S. all the time that no one would notice. Doh! Just kidding, found the pic, saw a big city in the background, took a risk.
Mr. Oak @ May 22nd 2007 3:20PM
Excellent move Mayor Mike!! But hey, what about that enormous fleet of Cop cars and other government vehicles. That's the place to start.
#1. No, even though operating costs will go down, they expect us to pick up the difference in the cost of the car.
#2. That is not an uncommon (cab driver in turban)sight in NYC, but that Prius is not a NYC cab. It's a yellow cab from someplace else.
It baffles me as to why Ford doesn't put the Hybrid config in that 500/Tarus/Sable thing they're selling. Cab companies everywhere would buy these things.
Dassault111 @ May 24th 2007 6:32PM
Ford should just make the Crown vic a hybrid, It would save the car, and keep the cab drivers happy, and help Ford.
sammy @ May 22nd 2007 3:39PM
For a hybrid to get great mileage in the city it has to spend a resonable amount of time on the street at speed (hwy) to recharge the batteries. (The brakes only recharge them a bit.) The first Civic Hybrids would actaully run out of battery power and then be without electric boost after too much city driving.
Maybe Taxi's get up to speed enough in the city to recharge the batteries. If not, the elctric motor and batteries are just dead weight. Good bye gas savings.
I work for politicians. They are really bad at making techincal decisions. They should not legislate the best auto/gas saving technology.
Nathan Es @ May 22nd 2007 3:40PM
my office in NY is right by a gas station where a Camry Hybrid fills up everyday, so you missed that vehicle. I think the idea is great though.
rrr @ May 22nd 2007 3:41PM
It baffles me as to why Ford doesn't put the Hybrid config in that 500/Tarus/Sable thing they're selling. Cab companies everywhere would buy these things.
--------------------------
You see what you just wrote there is the same thing every rational human being is asking..........................all but Mulaly ofcourse
John @ May 22nd 2007 3:51PM
Number 2
The picture is from Vancouver. Thats on Burrard street which i live on.
Google Prius Taxi and you will see Vancouver has 317 Priuses in Taxi service. They have performed better than Crown Vics and all other cabs of before. They are great. Very reliable.
testa di cazzo @ May 22nd 2007 4:11PM
this is the problem with politicians. they want to make a big splash to improve their image and move forward their campaign (whatever campaign it may be), but they make these decisions without knowing anything about the industries they are affecting.
Hybrids are a stop-gap technology, nothing more. additionally, hybrid batteries are still a very very unsure thing on a long-term basis.
having worked for a transportation company which owned more than a few cab companies, i can tell you there's a reason why cab drivers love the Crown Vic: It's a RELIABLE CAR. despite the fact that it only gets about 12-15MPG, they love it, even though they are paying for the gas. it can go for 300K miles easily if well maintained, and the design of the car makes it so if can take the daily bump and grind of cab drivers. These crappy toyota hybrids won't last 2 years of cab driver-abuse. they'll be gone before you can say "i need a new battery".
instead of making a hybrid requirement, why not JUST put the mileage requirement. this reeks of blatant toyota lobbying, to push their hybrid technology onto NY's cabs. the mayor's office should never have made this decision. This decision shuold have been made by the NewYork TLC (taxicab and limousine commission)
Mike@HCVN @ May 23rd 2007 1:57PM
testa di cazzo -
A majority of the hybrid taxis in NY are the Ford Escape hybrid. A good number have done >200k miles without incident.
fm @ May 23rd 2007 6:22PM
like mike said there are already Ford Escape hybrids on NYC streets. That said I don't believe Toyota Prius is certified to be a NYC yellow cab. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think there is a list of cars that the NYCT&LC compiles from which cab drivers can choose from.
So no it's probably not a Toyota loby. On the other hand toyota HAS had(not sure that they are still buying fleets from them) a contract with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation. The DP&C had first gen Prius when Toyota came out with them. And I see a lot of the Sec gen Prius in Central Park.
3cubedminus3squared @ May 22nd 2007 4:11PM
Oh okay. Where I live in Texas there are hardly any taxis and the few we have are F150's & GM minivans. They are all red.
Ric Kaysen @ May 22nd 2007 4:14PM
I was a paaenger in a NY hybrid taxi last week. First thing I noticed was that the customary plexiglass partition was missing. While chatting with the driver about the vehicle, I asked about the missing partition and he said there simply was no room for it. The back seat did, in fact, leave no room for one. He said he feels less safe without it. The polititians can mandate whatever they want for the vehicles. How do they mandate the drivers safety?
Albert @ May 22nd 2007 4:22PM
I always wonder why the world is in such a bad shape. Its because of people like #12 ans #14. All they do is bitch and stick onto unfounded claims and make them seem true.
You will not find many examples of battery failure on hybrids. Send me a link of a handful. This is a scare tactic on part of automakers that dont make hybrids to turn people off of them. Many taxi cabs have 200,000 miles on them with no battery issue.
This is not political grand standing. This is a great move and it is supported by the Cabbies themselves.
Read Cabbi Association response:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/05/22/ny.taxis.ap/
Jon @ May 22nd 2007 4:28PM
Sammy (#8), I'm not sure that's totally true, or maybe only true to the extent that early Honda hybrids got good but not "great" mileage in the city. A Prius does very well under these conditions (enough so that some folks say its only good in the city!).
Also, although taxis in NYC spend a lot of time braking, that's not the only potential for gas savings or the only logic behind encouraging hybrid taxis. They also spend a lot of time idling at stoplights and curbs, and the gasoline engine turns off when the car is not moving. That alone promises significant gas savings, as well as reducing emissions in the city, which is probably just as important a reason for encouraging hybrid taxis.
jeremy @ May 22nd 2007 4:29PM
The question is if these do save movey, why does there need to be a mandate forcing this change?