Responding to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's announcement that New York's cab fleet will be entirely hybrid within 5 years, Toronto councillor Howard Moscoe took the progressive position that
Toronto wouldn't be ready for such changes for at least another 10 years. According to Moscoe, the greening of Hogtown's taxi fleet "doesn't fit the economics of the taxi industry in Toronto". He points to the fact that a new Toyota Prius Hybrid costs about $40,000, while a 2 year old gas guzzler can be put on the street for a mere $15,000. Gail Beck Souter, general manager of Beck Taxi, chimes in, bemoaning that in the economically-challenged Toronto cab industry, there are already too many cabs chasing too few customers. How exactly this supply side excess is addressed by continuing to license cheap, fuel-inefficient taxis is anyone's guess. Maybe they'll figure that out in 10 years as well.
By way of contrast, the
BC government has taken steps to ensure that taxi fleets in Vancouver and Victoria become more environmentally friendly.
The province has asked the province's Passenger Transportation Board to approve taxi licences for only hybrid or other highly fuel-efficient cars, Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said Monday. He also wants the 100 existing applications before the board to only be approved if they're for the greener vehicles.
So, while Vancouver and NYC make the move towards hybrid taxis, Toronto trudges along with its armada of Ford Crown Vics.
Dean del Mastro would be proud.
