A Sea of Yellow to Turn Green
by Eric Kane, New York, NY 
on 05.23.07
On yesterday’s “Today” show, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a five-year plan to ‘green’ New York City’s yellow cab fleet. Although the fleet will retain its emblematic yellow color, the ubiquitous Ford Crown Victoria will be replaced by more fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles. Under the proposed plan, the city would triple the number of hybrid cabs from its current count of 375 by October 2008. The number of hybrid vehicles would subsequently increase by 20 percent each year after that.
The Mayor’s proposal will require that all new vehicles entering the fleet beginning in October 2008 get at least 25 miles per gallon. While cars entering the fleet in 2009, will be required to achieve 30 miles per gallon. According to city officials, the only vehicles that meet these fuel standards and the Mayor’s emissions standards are hybrids. If approved by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, the plan will likely mark the end of the familiar Ford Crown Victoria. Despite horrendous gas mileage of 10 to 15 miles to the gallon, the Crown Vic currently accounts for more than 90 percent of the city’s 13,000 yellow cabs.
The new fleets would cut carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 215,000 metric tons a year, a small percentage of the city’s 58.3 million metric tons. However, this effort marks an important and achievable step toward achieving the mayor’s PlaNYC program to reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. See also ::Bloomberg Proposes Congestion Pricing for Manhattan and ::More Hybrid Taxis Coming to NYC
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- 7 Ways the Troubled Automotive Industry Could Change Your Car and Your Commute
- New York Attitude Goes Green: Get Your Car Off My Pavement!
- Fire Up Your Metabolism and Burn More Calories with Herbs
- New York City's Green Police Crack Down the Eco-Friendly Whip--Watch Out!
- Forget Going Green Because It's the Right Thing to Do—Go Green to Make Your Neighbors Jealous
- Sharing Garden Chores with a Friend: Hits and Misses
I love him.
Imagine the fringe benefits:
Smaller cabs
Slower cabs
Safer cyclists and pedestrians
Bigger demand for Hybrids in general
Other cities will follow the lead.
Now he just needs to do the same for the city bus fleet. Holy crap, NYC might actually become livable again!
What is going to happen to all the old cars? Don't get me wrong, this is a great step forward but you have to also consider what you plan on doing with all your waste.
And Toronto refused taxi permits to a new company that wants to use hybrid only cars like the Camry & Prius.
Because Toronto wants all taxis to be a certain size. Same thing here in Montreal.
Toyota had better not phase out the Camry Hybrid, as most taxi fleets will want that car very soon.
Well, they could start by, I don't know, selling them?
Then the scrap heap, or chop shop, or whatever else they can be used for. Whatever it is, I wouldn't worry that they're going to be dumped into the East river.
Introducing new, greener technology invariably means getting rid of the old.
Taxis in NY are generally replaced every 3-5 years anyway so the new replacements just have to be a hybrid. I wonder why only hybrids....couldn't the new breed of hyper efficient, ULSD, direct injection diesels meet the mpg/emmission requirements?
If ford could get there V6 turbo diesel to meet US emission standards it would be great in the Crown Vic.
If ford could get there V6 turbo diesel to meet US emission standards it would be great in the Crown Vic.
what do we mean by 'green' now... does it means ecologically sustainable/friendly or a weaker, relative meaning of the word - along the lines of - still bad but only half as bad?
10mpg is an outrage, 30mpg is still pathetic - thats pretty much the standard mpg for cars in London (and we are not calling cars in london the eco option or touting them as 'green')
come on treehuggers - please sort out your terminology. improvements are good but come on, these cabs are pathetic in terms of what technology is able to offer. check out www.loremo.com for a 157mpg vegetable powered car (that looks great) - this is approaching on greenness
I think this is a wonderful idea. Good for the Mayor!
Actually its really quite pointless and from another perspective, Imagen being told that you have to have the car we tell you to use, sure its your company but government is going to tell you everything what to do. Crown Vics have proven reliable (very) whereas these new hybrids haven't (not saying they aren't) but they need to have about 5 years on them before considered reliable, and hybrids take more resources to make then the Crown Victoria, just another thing to remember. Yes there are benefits, but is it worth it? Do we all want to be wedged in midget cars to get to work? Is it worth it? Maybe... It all depends on your view. I don't think they should force a certain car on anyone... Whos next? We should make everyone drive a car the government chooses, actually let the government drive for us, "it worked in the movies" well, sorry I as a business owner would like to choose what I drive.
Yes, it is true that the Crown Vic may use more than its fair share of fuel, but it is also certified as an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle even in California. It is also one of the safest and most reliable vehicles on the road. The Crown Vic may be a big thirsty car but it will get you where you are going safely and what comes out of the tailpipe is better than alot of the vehicles it shares the road with.