Beantown Taxis To Go Hybrid By 2015

Boston has taken a page from New York City and will require all cab companies to convert their fleets to hybrid vehicles by 2015. The mandate isn't sitting too well with the cabbies, however. From a cost perspective, a used Crown Victoria - the standard taxi mogul - can be had used for about $7,500. Hybrids, of which few used models can even be found, are about 3.5-4 times as expensive. Added to that is the fact that taxi cabs in Boston must be retired after the vehicle reaches six years of age. City officials estimate that about half of Boston's current taxi fleet will be hybrid in the next two years, based on the vehicle retirement rules.

Cabbies also complain that hybrids don't have enough space in the trunk for luggage, and that the per-mile rate - which is regulated by the city - isn't large enough to help cover the cost of the car. The hybrid rules come on the heels of additional rules set to take effect on January 1, 2009 that require cab drivers to have credit card processing terminals in their vehicles, meet specific signage regulates, refrain from using cell phones while transporting passengers, and conform to a dress code that calls upon drivers to be "professionally attired" while driving.

Complaints haven't deterred Boston from sticking to the 2015 deadline, nor have they discouraged other cities from going the hybrid route. In San Francisco, cab companies - while not specifically mandated to use hybrids - are under orders to reduce their emissions by 50% over the next three years. That regulation will be tough to meet without heavy hybrid use.

In New York City, the changeover to hybrids is going a little more smoothly. The city has lined up dealers that are willing to provide hybrid vehicles at a rate that's lower than the sticker price, and the cabbies are finding solace in the reduction of their expenditures on gasoline. The New York fleet must be converted by 2012.

In the Big Apple, the preferred hybrid model is the Ford Escape, although some passengers are not happy about the step-in height, the vehicle does provide more room for stowing luggage. Toyota Priuses also make up a fair percentage of the fleet, despite Toyota's insistence that the car was never designed for fleet use. A major consideration for hybrid vehicles is the replacement cost of the batteries, especially since the battery life of hybrids isn't known under fleet-driving conditions. A taxi company in Australia recently reported getting 341,000 miles from one of its oldest Priuses before the vehicle required a new battery pack.

Source: Wired, City of Boston