New York to get fleet of hybrid eco-taxis
Travelling in the backseat of the average New York cab is a hair-raising experience, unless you’re used to being driven at 120mph by a jabbering madman with a grudge against the world. Which rules out everyone bar Jeremy Clarkson’s children.
Anyway, scary though they are, Noo Yoik’s cabs are about to get a lot greener. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that the city’s taxis will all run hybrid gasoline-electric engines by 2012.
It’s part of a wider programme to reduce NY’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the year 2030, although by that point the planet may be so fecked, New York will only be accessible by underwater sea-taxis anyway. And six-seater dolphins.
There are more than 13,000 taxis in the city at the moment, of which just 375 are hybrids, according to Bloomberg. The mayor is also planning a congestion charge for Manhattan, which should have New Yorkers choking on their bagels. But better that than choking on dreadful smog fumes, Right Kids?
Anyway, I’m keen to see if Ken Livingstone is brave enough to try a similar policy here in London with our black-cab drivers.
(via Physorg)
