The Big Green Apple: Hybrids Ease Their Way into New York’s Taxi Fleet
The Crown Victoria has a few selling points: brand loyalty, fleet discounts, cheap parts, and a proven track record. On the other hand, with a city speed limit of 30 m.p.h. and midtown traffic at a crawl for much of the day, the enormous V8 RWD body-on-frame tank is simply overkill. The EPA suggests that the ubiquitous Crown Victoria gets 18mph in the city - if you accelerate slowly, avoid unnecessary braking, and other activities which are par for the course on Manhattan streets. Taxi drivers have no particular love for the beast either – drivers are required to lease the car for the day and pay for their own gas. A smaller engined FWD vehicle makes much more sense. Toronto uses the new FWD Impala as their taxi, but wouldn’t something that has more interior space and sliding doors to enter and exit in traffic work better? Something like, say, a minivan? Thankfully, the city has realized this and Honda Odysseys and other vans are entering service – but the Taxi and Limousine Commission wants to do even better.
Currently there are 27 hybrid taxis on the street: 22 hybrid Escapes, two RX400hs, two Highlanders, and one Prius. It isn’t all wine and roses – the cost of a hybrid is $4,000 to $5,000 over a traditional vehicle, there is less interior space, the long-term durability is unproven, and parts are more expensive. The government is working to offset some of these issues with credits for purchasing the cars, deep discounts on medallions ($170,000, down from the standard $400,000). Given the commission’s long-standing history with Ford, there is already a rapport between many fleet owners and the engineers and parts department, something they would be loath to lose. It behooves Ford to see this through as well: in addition to their guaranteed repeat customer (by law, taxis must be decommissioned and sold after 5 years of service) they get real-world data on long-term use of their vehicles as well as brand recognition.
It remains to be seen how well the hybrids hold up to punishing taxi duty: a driver can put 65,000 miles or more on in a single year, plus the fender-benders, enormous potholes, and hard driving that a cabbie’s car must endure. For now, however, the drivers are pleased: the seats are more comfortable, the cars handle fine, and most importantly a driver can save $15 per shift. When you’re trying to eke out a living based on the tips given by stingy New Yorkers, that $3500 or more per year is a big deal.