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T.O. unlikely to follow green taxis road
May 22, 2007 09:18 AM
Curtis Rush
Staff Reporter
Although New York's cabs are going green, Toronto is years away from introducing such dramatic change to an industry already suffering economically, according to city and cab officials here.
In New York, the city’s fleet of yellow cabs will go entirely hybrid within five years, and all new taxis will have to meet emissions and mileage standards by next year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday.
But Toronto councillor Howard Moscoe said such a measure here would amount to picking on the taxi drivers.
New York's taxi industry is highly profitable, according to Moscoe, who heads the licensing and standards committee, which regulates the cab industry.
Moscoe said he doesn't want to force cab drivers to buy more expensive hybrid vehicles, even if cleaner-running taxis would help the environment.
A Toyota Prius, for example, costs $40,000, Moscoe said. Currently, drivers can put a two-year-old vehicle on the street for $15,000.
"It doesn't fit the economics of the taxi industry in Toronto," the councillor said.
If any hybrid cars should be mandated, Moscoe says, the provincial and federal governments should step up and mandate privately held vehicles too.
"When you talk about 5,000 cabs, that's basically a drop in the bucket," he said. "It's easy to single out the cab drivers but that's a single entity," Moscoe said.
"Let them do it for the whole country if they care about cleaning up the environment and then wait to see the reaction from car buyers. Why would anyone pick on the taxi industry? It's a good thing for the environment, but you can't expect the taxi industry to carry it on their backs."
In Toronto, the industry is "on the economic edge," according to Moscoe.
Some cab drivers would be forced out of business if Toronto followed New York's lead, he said.
Gail Beck Souter, general manager of Beck Taxi, said New York's idea is worth studying and she believes hybrid taxis will one day become the standard.
But she has a concern about durability.
Most cab drivers use Crown Victorias and "they're like tanks," she said, adding she is not sure the hybrid vehicles can put up with the wear and tear on Toronto's streets.
She also said New York's economics favour an easier transition to hybrids.
In New York, cab licences are worth $500,000, making is easy for cabbies to go to their banks to get financing for the changeover.
In Toronto, cab licences are worth about $120,000.
Another economic difference in New York is that most cabs are owned by fleets.
Here, the most drivers own their cars.
The economic climate is "horrible" here, according to Beck Souter, who said there are too many cabs chasing too few customers.
However, there are signs Toronto's taxis could become greener in the long term.
Co-Op Cabs is working with a city agency, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, to introduce an on-road pilot program this year to test hybrid vehicles for the taxi industry.
Over the course of a year, cab drivers will test 10 Toyota Camry hybrids and 10 regular Camrys to identify how they perform, what fuel savings they will get and what maintenance costs are involved so that a business case assessment can be shared with the industry and city of Toronto licensing committee.
Mary Pickering, co-director of the Toronto Atmosphere Fund, said the problem with the New York plan is that most of those hybrid cabs are still large vehicles.
"A big hybrid can still belch out more emissions than a small regular vehicle," she said.
T.O. unlikely to follow green taxis road
May 22, 2007 09:18 AM
Curtis Rush
Staff Reporter
Although New York's cabs are going green, Toronto is years away from introducing such dramatic change to an industry already suffering economically, according to city and cab officials here.
In New York, the city’s fleet of yellow cabs will go entirely hybrid within five years, and all new taxis will have to meet emissions and mileage standards by next year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday.
But Toronto councillor Howard Moscoe said such a measure here would amount to picking on the taxi drivers.
New York's taxi industry is highly profitable, according to Moscoe, who heads the licensing and standards committee, which regulates the cab industry.
Moscoe said he doesn't want to force cab drivers to buy more expensive hybrid vehicles, even if cleaner-running taxis would help the environment.
A Toyota Prius, for example, costs $40,000, Moscoe said. Currently, drivers can put a two-year-old vehicle on the street for $15,000.
"It doesn't fit the economics of the taxi industry in Toronto," the councillor said.
If any hybrid cars should be mandated, Moscoe says, the provincial and federal governments should step up and mandate privately held vehicles too.
"When you talk about 5,000 cabs, that's basically a drop in the bucket," he said. "It's easy to single out the cab drivers but that's a single entity," Moscoe said.
"Let them do it for the whole country if they care about cleaning up the environment and then wait to see the reaction from car buyers. Why would anyone pick on the taxi industry? It's a good thing for the environment, but you can't expect the taxi industry to carry it on their backs."
In Toronto, the industry is "on the economic edge," according to Moscoe.
Some cab drivers would be forced out of business if Toronto followed New York's lead, he said.
Gail Beck Souter, general manager of Beck Taxi, said New York's idea is worth studying and she believes hybrid taxis will one day become the standard.
But she has a concern about durability.
Most cab drivers use Crown Victorias and "they're like tanks," she said, adding she is not sure the hybrid vehicles can put up with the wear and tear on Toronto's streets.
She also said New York's economics favour an easier transition to hybrids.
In New York, cab licences are worth $500,000, making is easy for cabbies to go to their banks to get financing for the changeover.
In Toronto, cab licences are worth about $120,000.
Another economic difference in New York is that most cabs are owned by fleets.
Here, the most drivers own their cars.
The economic climate is "horrible" here, according to Beck Souter, who said there are too many cabs chasing too few customers.
However, there are signs Toronto's taxis could become greener in the long term.
Co-Op Cabs is working with a city agency, the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, to introduce an on-road pilot program this year to test hybrid vehicles for the taxi industry.
Over the course of a year, cab drivers will test 10 Toyota Camry hybrids and 10 regular Camrys to identify how they perform, what fuel savings they will get and what maintenance costs are involved so that a business case assessment can be shared with the industry and city of Toronto licensing committee.
Mary Pickering, co-director of the Toronto Atmosphere Fund, said the problem with the New York plan is that most of those hybrid cabs are still large vehicles.
"A big hybrid can still belch out more emissions than a small regular vehicle," she said.
