Hybrid Taxis Hit NYC Streets

On November 10 New York officially added the first mini-fleet of hybrid taxicabs – six Ford Escape Hybrids – to its yellow taxi fleet. Ford was the first American auto manufacturer to introduce a hybrid vehicle.

The two-wheel-drive version of the Escape Hybrid achieves 36 miles per gallon in city driving, close to 500 miles per tank of gas, allowing cabbies to go an entire shift without taking time to fill up.

According to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (NYCTLC), each New York taxi averages nearly 100,000 miles of driving annually. So, the fuel savings for drivers and operators could reach the thousands of dollars every year. That savings could enable hybrid owners to recover the premium cost within the first year on the road.

“It’s a no-brainer,” says Evgeny Friedman, co-owner of Taxi Club Management Inc. in Brooklyn. Friedman purchased 18 of the first 27 hybrid medallions auctioned last October by the NYCTLC.