New York Quickly Bringing in Hybrid Taxis
July 17, 2008
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Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City, has announced that the city will be bringing in an additional 300 hybrid taxis each month. This is just one of over 100 green initiatives the mayor has launched to help his city cut its carbon footprint and be a leader in the country for fighting global warming.
With sky high gas prices above $4 per gallon in the US, there are long waiting times to get your hands on a hybrid car that will cut your gas bill and your carbon footprint. Bloomberg has been able to get a guarantee from three auto makers that they will provide a set number of hybrid cars each month. NYC will receive 200 Nissan Altimas monthly, and another 50 hybrids from each of Ford and Chevrolet.
New York has about 13,000 taxis on their roads, 10% of which are already hybrids. The city is aiming to have all taxis in New York as hybrid cars by 2012 and this announcement will help them achieve that.
Not only will this reduce the city’s carbon footprint, but it is expected to save the average taxi driver close to $6500 annually through lower fuel costs.
Hybrid cars are ideally suited to city driving where you are constantly braking, as that is what charges the car’s electric battery. A hybrid can get roughly 25-30 miles per gallon in the heart of the city, roughly twice the mileage of a regular car.
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