November 14th, 2008 · No Comments

By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now

New York City taxi cab owners and drivers are finally closer to being on the same page in the debate over hybrid vehicles.

At a press conference Friday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced an incentive program designed to create an entirely green fleet of cabs by 2012.

Financial incentives will be awarded to taxi fleet owners who buy hybrid vehicles, and financial disincentives for those who continue to use non-hybrids. Hybrid cars work on a mixture of gasoline and electricity from batteries.

The mayor’s announcement follows an Oct. 31 court order that prevented the city from adopting a previous hybrid cab proposal, part of the mayor’s PlaNYC package to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution by 2030. Mayor Bloomberg has been a longtime advocate for green living throughout the city.

On the eve of the taxi proposal, a federal judge ruled on behalf of the taxi fleet owners that fuel economy and vehicle emissions standards were the domain of the federal government and could not be imposed by city or state mandates.

At the time, Mayor Bloomberg spoke out against the judge’s decision:

“The decision is not a ruling against hybrid cabs, rather a ruling that archaic Washington regulations are applicable and therefore New York City, and all other cities, are prevented from choosing to create cleaner air and a healthier place to live.”

The taxicab fleet owners argued that the smaller hybrid cars were a safety issue. They said that because of the many miles a cab travels as well as its 24-7 usage, the lightweight hybrids are not sturdy enough. They also said that the interiors were too small and might endanger the passengers in an accident.

More to the point, the issue had to do with money.

The fleet owners were concerned about losing money by using all hybrid cars, as the vehicles can be more expensive. The cab drivers, on the other hand, stood to profit since they would not need to use as much gas.

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