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New York's yellow taxis go green |
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Write for our Climate - The North American Diary
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Written by James Hossack
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Wednesday, 23 May 2007 |
 NEW YORK (AFP) - New York's signature yellow taxis will all run on hybrid gasoline-electric engines by 2012, reducing air pollution and helping to tackle climate change, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday.
Bloomberg, who earlier this year unveiled an ambitious program to cut the city's greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent before 2030, said the new vehicles would be phased in immediately, replacing the current fleet.
"The benefits of this policy are going to be felt by generations of New Yorkers. Going hybrid will shrink the city's carbon footprint," Bloomberg told reporters, saying the move would save millions of gallons of fuel every year.
"Implementing tougher standards for the more than 13,000 taxis in this city will provide the same clean air benefits as removing 32,000 privately owned cars from our streets," he said.
The city's current taxis use almost 17 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers (get 14 miles per gallon) on average, while the new fleet would see fuel economy of around eight liters per 100 kilometers (30 miles per gallon.)
While there were now just 375 hybrid taxis on New York's streets, that figure was set to rise to 1,000 by October next year and to more than 50 percent of the total fleet by the end of 2010, Bloomberg said.
"The idea is to make our cabs more efficient," Bloomberg earlier told NBC television. "We have to do something. There's too much traffic and too much stuff in the air. We're not green enough."
Taxis are currently in use for no more than five years, meaning that the fleet should be entirely hybrid by 2012, Bloomberg said. The city was also planning to introduce hybrid buses and garbage trucks, he said.
In a speech to mark Earth Day last month, Bloomberg unveiled 127 broad policy initiatives to cut greenhouse gas emissions, increase access to parks, reclaim unused industrial land and reduce water pollution.
The initiative that received the most attention was a congestion charge for drivers entering Manhattan. The proposal is also aimed at reducing car use in the city and improving air quality.
Other headline announcements included a plan to plant one million new trees in New York over the next decade.
"Climate change is a national challenge, and meeting it requires strong and united national leadership," Bloomberg said at the time.
Last week, Bloomberg hosted mayors from around the world at a summit dedicated to reducing world cities' greenhouse gas emissions, notably by improving energy efficiency in existing buildings.
His environmental campaigning and recent trips to other parts of the United States, where he has addressed national issues, have fueled speculation that Bloomberg could be preparing to run for president in 2008.
He has consistently denied such rumors, saying he is committed to serving as mayor until the end of his term in 2009, although reports last week suggested he had set aside one billion dollars for a White House bid.
If he does mount a presidential challenge, he is expected to run as an independent, even though he was elected mayor on a Republican ticket.
photo: Three Ford Escape hybrid taxicabs donated by Yahoo! sit in front of New York's City Hall. New York's signature yellow taxis will all run on hybrid gasoline-electric engines by 2012, reducing air pollution and helping to tackle climate change, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday.(AFP/Stan Honda)
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