Hybrid taxi
In 2000, North America's first hybrid taxi was put into service in Vancouver, British Columbia, operating a 2001 Toyota Prius which traveled over 332,000 km (206,000 mi) before being retired.
[1][2] In 2015, taxi driver in Austria claims to have covered 1,000,000 km (620,000 mi) in his Toyota Prius with the original battery pack.
[5] Unlike conventional gasoline cars, hybrids get better fuel economy, do well at slow speeds or idling, and have cleaner emissions.
[6] The Arlington County Board authorized in September 2007 a new taxi company, EnviroCAB, to operate with an all-hybrid fleet of 50 vehicles.
[7] The hybrid taxis began operating in February 2008, allowing EnviroCAB to become the first all-hybrid taxicab fleet in the United States.
The program promotes replacing older fuel-inefficient cabs with hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles as the existing fleet ages out.
In addition, hybrid taxi drivers get two "front of the line" passes per shift at Logan Airport, allowing them to make two extra trips daily.
[13] In July 2009 a federal judge granted the request for a temporary injunction and ordered the city to stop enforcing the rule requiring medallion owners to buy new hybrid cars by 2015.
As part of Mayor Rahm Emanuel action agenda “Sustainable Chicago 2015,” the city has the goal to achieve a taxi fleet which is 75% to 80% hybrid or compressed natural gas vehicles.
[18] As part of a 12-month pilot program to encourage alternative-fuel vehicle use, green taxis move to the front of the passenger line at Chicago's airports.
[17] In November 2008 Hamburg became the first city in Germany to deploy a fleet of 130 environmentally friendly taxis that run on a hybrid electric or natural gas motor.
The hybrid taxicab was developed by engine designer Azure Dynamics and London Taxis International with support from the Energy Saving Trust and the Department for Transport.
It is a plug-in hybrid range-extender electric vehicle designed to comply with new regulations, which ban new diesel engined taxis and require a zero-emissions capability.
[5] The deployment of the city's Taxi of Tomorrow, scheduled to begin in 2013, would result in almost all the existing fleet to be replaced within 3 years with the non hybrid Nissan NV200 passenger van.
[34] The taxi company Verture began operations in Paris in September 2007 with a hybrid only fleet made of Toyota Prius.
In addition to lowering emissions with its hybrid fleet, the company purchases carbon offsets and supports global reforestation by subsidizing the planting of 10 Brazilian rainforest trees monthly for each cab in service.
The statewide Texas Green & Go Clean Taxi Partnership was built based on the San Antonio program's success.
[4][41] Out of a total of 1,378 taxis eligible for the incentive (96 wheelchair accessible taxi-vans are excluded) 788 are alternative fuel vehicles, representing 57% of the San Francisco's taxicab fleet by March 2010.
[4][41][42] From 2016 through the Pakro Company the first Iran's Hybrid Taxicabs were added to the countries taxi system, they started first to work in the Capital Tehran and after they spread to other big cities like Tabriz and Mashhad .
[48] Other cities where taxi service is available with hybrid vehicles include Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona and Singapore.
[58] Between 2012 and 2013, the city of São Paulo, Brazil, put in operation 20 Toyota Prius as part of a demonstration program, together with 10 Nissan Leafs.
