Why Hybrid taxi’s may not help - revisited

We first posted this report on June 6, 2007:
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Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York, has ordered that all New York taxi companies switch to hybrid vehicles within five years.

One can understand why after years of enduring hoards of twelve-mile-per gallon Crown Victoria taxicabs guzzle fuel and spew harmful emissions as they prowl the streets of the city.

Converting to hybrids is a noble idea but will it really make a big difference?

The sea of yellow in midtown Manhattan will soon be made up mostly of Ford Escape (upper photo) and Toyota Prius hybrids (lower photo).

It will take lots of adjustment on the part of taxi riders to go from a roomy Crown Victoria to a leg-cramping ride in a Prius.

Forget the small size of the Prius -- it’s the way Toyota makes hybrids that could perpetuate the New York taxi problem. They go into gas mode during acceleration and don’t go into electric mode until cruising.

We all know what that means. Lead footed New York taxi drivers will pollute nearly as much as they do now and save very little gas in the process.

If Toyota-style hybrids are used as cabs there will be little improvement in fuel consumption or exhaust pollution unless cabbies drive like Granny Smith or Aunt Matilda.

Note: the Crown Victoria has traditionally made up about 90 percent of the city’s 13,000 licensed yellow cabs. Hailing a cab in New York just won’t be the same without the roomy Crown Vic.

A ride from Midtown Manhattan to La Guardia could go from a scary ride to a scary uncomfortable ride.

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