Monday, June 30, 2008 |
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HYBRID-CAB DEADLINE HAS FLEETS FUMING By SALLY GOLDENBERG June 30, 2008 The greening of yellow taxis has many fleet owners seeing red - for fear of not being able to meet City Hall's Oct. 1 deadline for registering only hybrid cars as cabs. With fleets required to replace all their taxis every three years on a staggered basis and individuals ordered to replace theirs every five years, the mandate would not affect all cabs at once. Still, 2,000 to 2,500 of the city's 13,227 yellow cabs will come due in October. Meanwhile, owners cite a shortage of hybrids and argue that they're also not as safe as the standard, heavy Crown Victorias. Ronald Sherman, a fleet owner and president of the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, said major hybrid providers Ford and Toyota can sell only a fifth of the number required to meet the directive. "Clearly, there will not be enough to sustain this mandate," Sherman said. "The numbers simply don't add up." In a letter to Matthew Daus, chairman of the city Taxi and Limousine Commission, he asked that the city push back the deadline due to a "nationwide hybrid car and parts availability crisis." "Crown Victorias are 5-star, across-the-board crash-rated vehicles that withstand severe accidents," he wrote. The city has an additional 10,000 black cabs that will be subject to the same standards starting in January. The hybrids Mayor Bloomberg is pushing as part of his broader environmental agenda get 25 miles to the gallon - and would save drivers about $5,000 a year in gas. "On availability, it is true that hybrid sales nationwide have increased by over 45 percent over the last year," said Jeff Kay, director of Bloomberg's office of operations. "But we have been having discussions with the major auto manufacturers to ensure that availability will not be a problem." Kay added that a safety expert approved the Ford Escape after a recent City Council Transportation Committee hearing. Sherman testified at that hearing against the Escape's durability. |
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