The Ford Escape hybrid taxis that
are rolling through the streets of San Francisco I mentioned last week are getting good reviews from
apparently everyone, according to The Auto
Channel: drivers, cab company owners and riders. Drivers are saving about $20 to $30 a shift on gas and getting
bigger tips from their riders as a thank you for doing something for the environment, and even the air conditioning
costs are less than in sedan taxis. The taxis, which are just about reaching or passing the 100,000 mile mark, are
getting a closer look as a serious contender to the long-time reliable sedans now that they’ve been in service for a
while. In New York City, the hybrid fleet is too fresh on the streets for owners to gush about, but with the results
from San Francisco, it seems likely that this sort of good news will keep rolling in, and hybrid taxis are in the
future for Las Vegas and Chicago. In SF, the goal is to have half the taxis in the city be hybrid or run on compressed
natural gas by 2008.
[Source: The Auto Channel]