Red Light For Green Cabs

A federal judge ruled that Mayor Bloomberg can’t force "fuel-efficiency" rules on taxi owners. Only the feds can set standards like. So says Judge Paul Crotty. Bloomberg though disappointed by the decision doesn’t believe he’s defeated yet. He’s asked the Taxi and Limousine Commission to hype his hybrid idea and vows to lobby Congress to change the mileage standards laws. It seems that if New York’s mayor can’t hail a green cab, he’ll give hell to the yellow ones.

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Taxi Owners Driven To Federal Court

Some taxicab owners believe that the hybrids they’re being forced to buy are "unsafe" to be used as taxis. They contend that modifying the new cars for cab use make them dangerous for drivers and passengers. In fact, partitions violate the vehicle manufacturer’s own safety recommendations. By law, as of October 1st, all new taxis purchased must be hybrids. Taxi Commissioner Mathew Daus responded to the owner's lawsuit saying, “I want to send a clear and unequivocal message to the riding public that hybrid-electric taxicabs are absolutely safe." Undoubtedly, future lawsuits by vehicle accident victims will show which side was right and who was being un-fare.

Taxi Seat Covers May Trick Air Bags

For decades, the Taxi and Limousine Commission has required New York City taxicabs to use vinyl seat covers. These covers are more stain resistant and less odor absorbent than cloth materials. That’s good for all NYC riders. Now, for the bad news. The front seats on about 20% of the city’s 13,000 taxis are equipped with weight sensors for passengers. The back seats are not similarly equipped. These sensors determine how forcefully air bags must deploy. The vinyl seat covers may disrupt the sensors from adequately deploying protection when needed. Taxicab owners were ordered to strip the vinyl ... faster than a loser beating a fare! Beaded seat backs and other types of seat padding must also be removed from the new cabs. Imagine that. A NYC taxi without beads is like a NYC taxi without a foreign language!

Hack Hybrid Help On The Way

There’s an October 25th deadline for taxicab owners to purchase vehicles that get a minimum 25mpg. Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of hybrids. What’s a city’s taxicab industry to do? Enter GM, Ford and Nissan. They've pledged to supply a total of 300 vehicles monthly to aid owners meet the new green goals. Mayor Bloomberg said, “[They] have gone above and beyond.” Of course if automakers had been promoting hybrid vehicles years ago as they could have, we’d all be better off today.

Taxi Medallion Sales Drive Record Prices

The city collected $54 million dollars recently after selling new medallions for cabs. TLC Commissioner Mathew Daus said "The industry has never been better." A regular medallion sold for a record $524,000. A pair of wheelchair-accessible medallions also sold for a record $1.31 million dollars. As part of the auction, 87 medallions for wheelchair-accessible minivans were sold. This will bring New York City’s fleet of taxis available for the disabled to 231; the highest in the nation. Nice to have all the additional cabs around town, but will any come with a polite driver who speaks English, willing to drive to the outer boroughs?

Trying To Tame Taxi Tooting

Community Board 3 representing the Lower East Side in Manhattan has proposed the following suggestions to reduce excessive horn pollution in their neighborhood: 1) A roof light that illuminates every time the cab’s horn beeps. 2) An interior horn that blasts the cabbie each time the horn is utilized. 3) A meter which deducts $1.00 each time the horn is honked. While the first idea may have some merit (Although why not propose it for ALL vehicles?), the other two ideas are both unfair and probably unsafe. If the Board get these ideas passed, perhaps they'll also propose fining those who try flagging a cab down by yelling “Hey Taxi!” too loud!

Hey Cabbie!

The Taxi and Limousine Commission agreed to pay a British firm $500,000.00 to design new taxis. I guess we Americans no longer lead the world in automobile manufacturing or ecology technology. More conveniences for the passenger. More green science to benefit the environment. The first of these new cabs is expected to hit NYC’s streets in the Fall of 2009 (Want to bet?). Let’s just hope these English engineers remember which side of the road we drive on.