New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans today to turn the city’s taxi cab fleet— currently 13,000 in number — entirely to hybrid models by 2012. The plan starts immediately, expanding the current fleet of 400 hybrid cabs to 1,000 by October 2008.
The mayor also said by that same October 2008 date all cabs would have to get 25 mpg, and by 2009 the requirement will be 30 mpg. Longtime taxi favorites like the Ford Crown Victoria get 15 mpg in city driving, according to new 2008 EPA estimates. The 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid SUV gets 34 mpg city. Another benefit for cab drivers is that most hybrids do not run their gasoline engines when at idle, instead relying on the electric motor to power the car. This could mean even greater savings than the EPA numbers suggest.
NYC’s Taxi Fleet Going Green by 2012 (Newsvine)
