Last month, Mayor Thomas Menino and officials from Boston CleanAir Cabs announced the launch of Boston’s first hybrid taxicab in a project officials say will have little cost for taxpayers.
The taxi, which boasts lower tailpipe emissions and fuel costs, is being used by the Boston Cab Company
Boston CleanAir Cabs — a partnership of groups who worked to reduce air pollution in Boston over the last two years — joined forces with Menino to gradually replace city cabs with hybrid vehicles.
Boston Cab Company purchased the hybrid vehicle for approximately $25,000 and is scheduled to purchase nine more, each at more than three times the price of the Crown Victoria cars the company usually purchases at auctions, said John Moore, co-founder of Boston CleanAir Cabs.
But the mayor does not intend to replace all of the taxis with hybrid cars just yet.
“We’d like to see the project progress, but we aren’t pushing any technology,” said Laura Bickel, Boston’s Transportation and Air Quality specialist. “We are open to other technologies as well.”
Because hybrid cars are a relatively new technology, it is uncertain how long they last, Bickel said. In cities including New York and San Francisco, they are still running without problems after two years.
Taxpayers do not fund the new hybrid taxis and developing environmental programs.
According to Bickel, the hybrid taxis are a part of a voluntary and incentive-based program. Drivers save about half of their gas money, and if companies use the hybrids, Boston Hackney Service — which is responsible for cab licensing — will give the taxis another year of service as long as they pass inspection.
Two hybrid models — Toyota Camry and Ford Escape — and one Compressed Natural Gas Ford Crown Victoria have been approved by the Boston Police Department for use in Boston. A green stripe on the side of a taxi indicates that the vehicle is a hybrid cab, according to the mayor’s press release.
The city has also partnered with Massachusetts Port Authority on using hybrid vehicles. Massport began using CNG-powered shuttle buses in 1995, and provides a 50 percent discount to taxis and other vehicles that use “clean” energy, according to a Sept. 21 press release.
“[The hybrid taxi] is yet another example of how we can partner with an important industry serving Boston’s residents and visitors to reduce impacts on public health and the environment,” Menino said in a Sept 22 press release.
A hybrid vehicle is comprised of two engines that work together — one engine is gas-fueled, and the other is fueled by electricity that comes from a large battery, Moore said. A computer tells the driver when the battery has enough energy, and when it needs the gas engine to get up a hill. The battery is charged by the gas engine or by the driver when the brakes are hit.
A Boston Business Journal article published in June reported that hybrid cars can get up to 48 miles per gallon of gasoline. Typically, taxis with engines that run only on gasoline get only 16 miles per gallon at most.
Some hybrid vehicles are more environmentally-friendly than others, but the vehicles used in Boston have much larger electric motors, according to the Journal.
Boston officials have not yet contacted other cab companies to purchase hybrid taxis.
Moore praised the owners of Boston Cab for taking a chance on the hybrid taxis and helping the city’s movement to decrease pollution.
Since the launch of the hybrid taxi, Boston Cab has been inundated with calls from people who want to ride in the hybrid taxi.
Boston is not the first city in the country to jump on the environmental bandwagon. San Francisco has been using hybrid taxis for about two years. New York City has been using clean vehicles for more than a year. Both cities have seen about 60 to 70 percent savings in gasoline and other assorted costs.
Over the next few months, New York City is slated to begin using purely electric taxicabs, according to wnbc.com.