Hybrid Taxis in NYC? - 10/15/08

Cleaning up the air is the best thing for everyone to do and the best way to do this is involving a community or nation to mandate the use of alternative energy.  One of the ways to do this is mandating the use of gas/electric hybrids for public transportation and taxies.

This battle is beginning in New York City.  The result will have far reaching consequences around the world.

In the 1960s Tokyo was reported to have one of the worse pollution problems of any city in the world.  Today Japan has 260,000 taxies, which uses liquid Propane Gas (LPG).  The mandate use of LPG resulted in much cleaner air and a reduction in the use of imported oil. 

New York City has the largest fleet of cabs in the U.S., currently at 13,087 in operation with 40,000 other for hire vehicles. The battle for change includes carmakers and the NYC commission. The fight is over the bulletproof plastic partition mandated by law in NYC, which separates the driver from their fares and its effect on safety devices for rear seat passengers.

Honda and Toyota are warning against the use of hybrids as taxies.  GM, Ford and Nissan will not certify the crashworthiness of hybrids used as taxies with modified partitions.

The responsibility has been shifted to New York City Taxi and Limousine commission (TCL) which shifted it to the federal government.  The government does not required automakers to crash test modified vehicles.

It seems everyone is passing the buck to avoid responsibility.  An agreement must be reached or hybrids and alternate fuel cars may not be used in NYC.

In 2007 the TLC mandated that all new taxies be hybrids or vehicles that have at least a 25 mpg rating. 

The Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade is legally challenging the use of hybrids after a 2008 engineer’s report found that hybrids would be unsafe as NYC taxicabs.

Japan makes use of the Prius sedans for a number of their taxicabs.  They do not use partitions in their cabs, but their crime is very low compared to NYC. 

The automakers that will not approve their hybrids for use as NYC taxicabs claim the partitions could somehow block or deflect side airbags.  The benefits of hybrid and clean diesel taxies seem to out weigh the problems associated with airbags.

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