More Hybrid Taxis Coming to NYC

Hybrid taxis will soon become a much more common site in the streets of New York City. Permits have been sold for a total of 281 hybrids taxis, which is a tenfold increase. They've been there for awhile; it comes as no surprise to us TreeHuggers that when it came time to auction more taxi permits, though opening bids were set at the discounted price of $320,000, the final bids were much higher, with the highest going for $554,147. Why pay so much? Drivers are reporting that hybrid customers tip better because they're excited about the hybrid experience; add that to the gas savings, which can be up to double that of a regular cab in city driving, and it all makes sense. Nine different hybrid models have been approved for use in the city, from the popular Prius to the luxurious Lexus RX 400h. ::Townhall via ::AutoblogGreen