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New York City
's yellow taxi fleet now will go green at the rate of 300 new hybrid cars a month, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Wednesday, citing an agreement with car-makers to supply the fuel-light cabs.
There
are already more than 1,300 hybrid taxis in the city, and each one
saves its drivers about $6,500 (3,251 pounds) a year, Taxi and
Limousine Commission Chairman Matthew Daus said in a joint statement
with the mayor.
Bloomberg aims to accomplish 127 green initiatives before his second and final four-year term ends in 2010. In December,
the
Taxi and Limousine Commission voted to require all vehicles that join
the taxi fleet to be hybrids by October 1. The only exception is for
cabs specially equipped for the handicapped.
Nissan Motor Co
has promised the city to supply up to 200 of its Altima hybrids per
month, while General Motors will provide 50 Chevrolet Malibu hybrids
and Ford Motor Co promised 50 of its Escape hybrids, the mayor said.
That
adds up to 90 more cars per month than the Taxi and Limousine
Commission had said were needed to meet its goals, which aim to ensure
that by 2012, the entire taxi fleet will be all-hybrid or a mix that
includes other cars with similar high mile-per-gallon ratings.
Fast-growing
demand for hybrids in an era of soaring gasoline prices is one of the
brightest markets for automobile companies and New York City is not
alone in emphasizing taxis.
Ford,
for example, says San Francisco put its first Escape hybrid taxi on the
streets in 2005, followed by other cities, including Chicago.
Jim Kliesch, a senior engineer with the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit think tank in Washington, D.C., said New York City's turn to hybrids could prove influential.
"That sends a key signal to automakers and to parts suppliers, such as battery makers and what not, to gear up their efforts to supply millions of hybrids, not just to fleets but to general consumers in the immediate time frame," Kliesch said.
Accomplish/v./:
complete, finish; perform
Initiative/n./:
enterprise, drive, ambition
Emphasizing/n./:
attaching special importance or significance to something
Non-profit/adj./:
not intended to earn profits, not for the purpose of earning money
Effort/n./:
physical or mental exertion, labor; attempt
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