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New York Taxis Will Go Hybrid
Jason Siegel writes "The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has approved the Clean Air Taxicabs Pilot Program Act, paving way for a hybrid car to be approved for NY taxi service by this fall. Soon, a large portion of New York's yellow cars will also be "green." According to the Coalition Advocating for Smart Transportation (CAST) poll, seven out of ten of the state's citizens support a switch to hybrids." New York might also reduce car pollution by loosening the rules for running a taxi, in order to reduce the need for private cars.
The poll cited New York City residents only. Headline says NY state.
This story is really only about one city. Too bad, too. The effect would be much more drastic on a state level. I wouldn't mind seeing green taxis in Albany or Rochester, either.
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The actual story about NYC hybrid taxis is in an Austin, TX paper.
NYC could encourage this conversion to hybrids, which get better mileage, by offering rebates on other taxes on the hybrids, making them up by increasing them on the nonhybrids in taxi fleets. Maintaining the total tax collected, but distributed to favor the hybrids. Including the gas savings (50%) on gas, which is about $2.60:gallon in NYC these days (including other taxes), such a move could convert most of the 13K cabs clogging the streets with filth. Once a critical mass was achieved, including garage mechanics with mostly hybrid skills, the city could drop the regime.
I'll be suggesting this approach to the NYC City Council "Technology" committee that I advise. It would help for New Yorkers (and others) to send constructive comments supporting this move to the committee Chair, Councilmember Brewer. Politicians, especially in the City, love to get public support for specific initiatives, especially when the ball is already rolling like it is with the TLC.
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AKA, there's over 8 million people in the area, and from the FA there are over 50,000 cabs, and considering how often cabs spend time idoling in traffic (hybrids power down when stuck in traffic, which is why city MPG are often higher than highway, unlike every other car), just the reduction of cab produced smog alone would be worth every penny. Considering the MPG, most cab companies would save money over the long run.
The grass is only greener, if you don't take care of your own lawn.
The reason NYC cabs suck so much is that there is an absentee landlord system for the licenses. Any city with this system has terrible cabs. The cab driver has to pay an exhorbitant rate to rent the cab or licence from the owner.
The city should issue a cab license to anyone who meet the standards and pays the fee. Let the free market take care of the rest.
Actually, studies show that hybrid owners are much wealthier on average than the typical American. At the present, drivers don't necessarily save money with hybrids because of the premium for the technology. Those with the cash to spare often opt for a more environmentally-friendly solution that also reduces dependence on foreign oil. In the case of taxis, they're driven enough that breaking even is much more likely and the smog problem is also addressed. The issue about "room" in hybrids isn't really accurate. Besides the space for a battery pack, there really isn't much difference.
That could very well be true, but thats hardly the only issue at play here.
Saving money on gasoline consumption, reducing our consumption of oil overall (We're gonna run out, sooner or later!), and reducing our pollution are all obviously good things with immediate benefits.
I'm not with the far-left environmentalist movement, but I do believe that our wasteful use of energy is something we need to deal with culturally.
I don't think the media is liberal. Its just a perception that people have because the news reporting doesn't always the viewer's own political views. The fact that both the left and right criticize the media for being biased would confirm this, at least anecdoctally.
By the way, if it wasn't for the green movement, pollution would be a much BIGGER problem than it is today. Thanks to many of the reforms implemented, we have stopped companies from totally wasting our rivers with dangerous contaminants, for example. There is a concept called "dont shit where you eat". I think that applies well here. The environment is certianly not the same way it was before we started becoming a heavily industrialized world. Something we should consider before just having knee-jerk reactions calling for more consumption.
They should deregulate all taxis. Maybe prices would fall if there was free competition. I know, on days I am short on money, I would like to slap a taxi sign on my car and drive down to the airport. A couple hours later, I would have enough money to go back to the bar.
Because nobody in NYC would ever abuse the free-taxi system by slapping a taxi sign on their car and picking up people to rape or otherwise victimize...
You are off by a bit there .. As of 2004 emblems were selling for record amounts of 386,000 not quite the 750,000 you said and the number of taxicabs is set by law at 11,787, not quite the 200,000 upi claimed. No new taxi licenses have been issued for over half a century, making the taxicab medallion (which is merely an aluminum plaque bolted to the hood of each cab) the central symbol of the regulatory system.
Bad Panda! No Bamboo for you! In matters of importance ACs will not be responded to. Want to say something critical,OK
I'm not even sure if this deserves a response, but...
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1) source? you really shouldn't quote numbers without a link.
2) data manipulation? what about the rest of the US.? you know, the part closer to the north pole?
3) do your fucking research! It is NOT very possible that we are coming out of a mini ice age. In fact, almost all scientists (especially those not employed by polluting industries) agree that this is not the case. You may have been misinformed by media that often quote radical scientists when trying to present a "balanced" report:
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1978
4) You believe that science should provide proof that greenhouse gases cause global warming?
How about all the information here: http://unfccc.int/essential_background/items/2877
Oh that's right, you're going to say that we shouldn't trust the UN, even if these reports are published by the top scientists in the world? Well, didn't you take high school chemistry? Anyone with knowledge of simple chemistry will tell you of the potential dangers of green house gases. (yes, i say potential here to be diplomatic -- see #7)
5) you like to separate yourself from "environmentalists", because you obviously don't care about the long-term environment, and would rather have cheap prices today than do your part in keeping the world safe for future generations? that's selfish and narrow minded.
6) ahh..environmentally-friendly liberal media. do you just like throwing around these sayings, because you've heard them so many times they must be true? are you really that stupid to fall into partisan name-calling tactics? anyway, in terms of environmentalism, the media is actually biased against environmentalism (see above link).
7) even IF we are at the end of a mini ice age (which is highly unlikely), you still must recognize the possible devastating effects of our continued release of so many green house gases into the atmosphere, and should especially be in favor of economically-friendly initiatives.
8) I'm not sure why you chose this forum to voice your support of Bush, and ignorance towards the Kyoto agreement. This story was about taxi drivers who drive environmentally-friendly cars because it is ultimately cheaper for them, hence invalidating your claim that environmentally-friendly products cost the consumer more.
9) There ARE environmentally-friendly solutions that are also economically beneficial. In fact, this is really the best way to get industries to act in the environment's (and hence, in OUR) best interest. Simple examples include environmentally-aware heating and air-conditioning, like placement of the windows, or having heat ducts near the floor instead of near the ceiling. More complex examples generally involve symbiotic relationships with our environment to utilize a renewable or recyclable resource.
10) Please leave your politics at the door, and before responding to an article with your bias, research the topic. Forget everything you think you know, and take a fresh look at the information available. It will only make you a smarter person.
I thought that hybrids were only efficient for highway driving, but not so great for stop-and-start traffic
Wrong. Hybrids use regenerative braking, to recover the energy of motion when you stop. That reduces the energy wasted by starting & stoping.
But regerative braking makes no difference on a highway where you don't normally stop.
Of course, hybrids tend to have small gas engines and be fuel efficient in other ways, which helps on the the highway. But the big advantage is for start & stop driving.
and that "leadfoot" drivers also further reduce the efficiency (since the internal combustion engine is never shut down that way).
Leadfoot drivers always get worse mileage, for any vehicle.
"Short trips KILL gas mileage." Isn't that what taxis do all day? Make lots of short trips?
Correct. But a hybrid will waste much less energy on a short trip than a regular car.
According to the NYC dept of city planning the Census Bureau believes that there were in 8,104,079 people in the five boroughs of NYC as of July 2004.
The grass is only greener, if you don't take care of your own lawn.
The newer Prius models (the hatchbacks that look like a CRX done over for a sci-fi movie) share the mass production lines for the most part, they surely don't cost $40,000 to make. Toyota was asked to estimate how much the hybrid system added to the cost of the Prius for U.S. tax purposes. The figure they came up with was $2k to $3k. Whether that is a reflection of the actual cost at this moment, it is certainly their target.
As far as why hybrids don't already run cab service in NYC, if your RTFA you'll notice that none are yet approved for it by the regulatory commission. Of course since everything is corrupt and mismanaged, what hybrids get approved will probably end up being a story of bribes, kickbacks, and political favors rather than technological suitability.
Someone had to do it.
Is this supposed to make sense? Do you actually know what a hybrid is? With a hybrid, the only thing that goes in is gas. Less gas consumed per mile, less emissions at the tailpipe, how could that not be less emissions? Unless the battery is in some way incredibly environmentally-unfriendly -- but even then, one battery is supposed to last for a few hundred thousand miles.