Sweet Victory: NYC Makes Way for Hybrids Katrina vanden Heuvel Frustrated by exorbitant gas prices, Kwame Corsi, a taxi driver from the Bronx, had been waiting years for the chance to drive a hybrid car. In New York, where 93 percent of the city's cabs are Crown Victorias (large Ford models that guzzle a gallon every twelve miles), drivers like Corsi often pay up to $100 dollars a day on fuel. Up until last week, New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission had refused to grant medallions for hybrid taxis. Now, thanks to the City Council's unanimous decision to approve the "Clean Air Taxis Act," Corsi will get his wish and New Yorkers will literally breathe easier. New York, which was ranked by the American Lung Association as one of America's most polluted cities in 2004, suffers from the highest asthma mortality rate in the country. But under the new law, which will put hybrids on the street by this fall, the harmful emissions spewed out by New York's fleet of 13,000 cabs will be dramatically reduced. According to the Sierra Club, hybrids are particularly well-suited for New York City, because the greatest difference in emissions from hybrids comes under conditions of slow traffic and idling. "The New York yellow taxi is an American icon. What better way to showcase a great solution to our air pollution and oil dependence problems?" said Mark Izeman of the NRDC in a press release from the Coalition Advocating for Smart Transportation (CAST), a group that has been at the forefront of the fight for green cabs in New York City. New York's high profile win is the latest in a string of victories for the "Green Fleets" movement. A few weeks ago, legislators in Charlotte, NC voted to hybridize the city's municipal fleet, and Denver, Seattle, and Madison have also made strides in converting their fleets to green. As is increasingly the case, cities across the country are making progressive strides in the face of an obstinate administration that refuses to declare its independence from oil. It's time to tell Congress to seriously invest in a clean energy plan. Take action by supporting the Apollo Alliance and clicking here to send a letter to your Senators and Congressmen. Interim solution frame? Maybe. But certainly forward from here.
Sounds great, but I don't think the Toyota Prius or Honda Civic hybrids would make very good taxis. Now if Ford would build a hybrid Crown Vic, that would work.
That's precisely the problem for NYC right now. None of the mass market hybrids out there meet the Taxi & Limousine Commission's requirements. But we're getting more minivan and SUV cabs, and I'm thinking the Toyota Sienna hybrid would be perfect once it hits the US market.
Something that would be nice is that hyrbids at street speeds are VERY quiet. Might make NYC slightly less noise polluted.
But this ruins the great new york city institution of getting into a cab where the driver speaks no english, is barely off the boat from some country where there's no snow - and having the driver head in the wrong direction, floor it and accelerate madly down an icy street! Experiences like that are what tourists come to New york for and talk about when they go home - its more of an adrenaline rush than a six flags rollercoaster!
I don't know about the backseat of the Toyota Prius, but the front seats of those cars are fairly roomy and comfortable. If Toyota could make a slightly extended addition of the Prius for cab companies I think it'd be awesome. Besides, in my opinion the Prius just looks way cooler and more modern than the Crown vics.
I don't think the Prius will meet the TLC's requirements even if they make the backseats bigger, since it will still only be a compact. And as far as I can tell, no one is making hybrid full size sedans, which is why I think the first hybrid cabs in NYC will be minivans.
Wow. Good point. Ford's already making decisions to roll out more hybrids based on a fraction of 13,000. Not to mention that NYC isn't the only city with taxicabs. Not to also mention in a lot of cities, the first company to introduce a hybrid fleet could use that as a selling point to gain market share on the competition.
Actually, a Prius is not a compact, but a mid-size car. While is is stubby on the outside, it has more interior room than a Camry.
Hilarious! Any cab in general needs to fit 4 passengers comfortably. You also need to consider that many people carry luggages, briefcases, boxes, etc. If they can simply get a hybrid Crown Victoria, it would be great. Also, I doubt they will want to use imported cars. If cabs are really a symbol of America, what kind of symbol is it if it's a Japanese car? It does symbolize the diversity in America, but it give others the chance to say the US isn't that great and can't produce their own goods.
I really like how Toyota is going forward and working on designing these cars. Honda I'm sure is to follow. I doubt Nissan is going to do the same any time soon. I think right now they want to focus on cars with great power, but very gas efficient. The 03 Nissan Altima 2.5 has like 175 hp and I think 29 mpg (highway) and 26 mpg (city). If they could start making more of these cars, I'm sure that will become cheaper.
If NYC wanted to do something to endorse hybrids, how about exempting them from parking fees and those streetsweeping time windows where you can't park?
For what it's worth, there already are Toyota and Honda vehicles in the NYC taxi fleet: http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/medallion/html/approved/taxi.shtml All the sedans are Crown Vics, but there's more variety with the minivans and SUVs.
My bad. I forgot about those...I kept on thinking about those, but I forgot the make. But yeah, those are pretty popular...especially the Honda's. But, the sedans are really the "image" that one thinks about when they think about a NYC cab.
Ford already bought Toyota's hybrid technology, which from what I hear is better than Honda's (my family has a Prius)...and I haven't seen a sedan, but I <i>have</i> seen a Hybrid Ford Escape, and it can't be much of a stretch from an SUV to a sedan.
That would be tight. The Hydrib Escape I think will look just like normal Escape I think. It's no Explorer, but it's much larger then a sedan (exterior).
It's interesting that the first Lexus hybrid is an SUV as well: http://www.lexus.com/models/rx_hybrid/index.html
A Prius has only 3 square feet less interior space than an Escape, and the Prius actually has 2.5 inches more rear leg room.