GREEN CABS

Editorial

This page is hosted by JournalNow.com, web site of the Winston-Salem Journal. This story was originally published Tuesday, May 29, 2007.

What a great idea. Within five years, all the taxis in New York City will be hybrid gas-electric vehicles, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday. The city doesn't own the taxis, but it sells licenses for their operation, and dictates specifications.

Going hybrid is a change that's easy to accomplish. Cabs must be replaced every few years anyway, so why not buy hybrids when the time comes? There are several proven models from which to choose.

A hybrid costs a bit more, but it won't take a taxi long to make up that extra cost with savings at the gas pump. Yahoo Inc. is donating 10 hybrid Ford Escapes toward the effort; maybe other companies will follow suit. At today's count, there are about 13,000 taxis on the New York City streets, spending a lot of time idling - and when a hybrid is idling, its gasoline engine isn't running. That's a lot of gas not burned, and a lot of polluting fumes not spewed into the air.

More cities should follow New York's lead.