The quiet green: new hybrid taxis in Iowa, Michigan
We've reported on hybrid taxis in NYC, Sydney and Dubai, but the trend isn't limited to places that also happen to be tourist hot spots. On my way to the airport yesterday, I tried a new taxi service in Lansing that exclusively uses hybrids in their fleet. OK, make that a hybrid in the fleet of one. Woodrow Campbel, the owner/dispatcher/driver, said that people don't call him because he's the green taxi in town, but he's pretty sure that his reputation will grow. In the meantime, weekend bar traffic is enough to keep his new business running; he started just two weeks ago and the money he makes taking the drunk college kids home is enough to make cleaning their vomit worth it.
Another example of hybrids in hired car action comes from Iowa City, where the Black & Gold Cab company just added a second Toyota Prius to the fleet. Owner Chris Griffin sent a note in to AutoblogGreen saying that, "To our knowledge, we have the first two hybrid taxis in the state of Iowa." Neither of these two business will be saving the planet singlehandedly, but every little bit helps.
[Source: Black & Gold Cab]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
S. Baker 1:08PM (9/25/2008)
Sving the planet by driving a Toyota? Pllleaseee....what we need to do is take public transportation and stop thinking about me me me, you know like the hollywierd liberal elites, AKA Learjet liberals or Limo-liberals!
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Rei 11:42AM (9/24/2008)
Around IC, you catch site of a Black and Gold Cab Prius every now and then. I just assumed that this sort of thing was more common than it was; I didn't know that IC was exceptional for having them!
(As a bit of trivia, the "Black and Gold" is a reference to the University of Iowa's colors)
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john riley 8:59AM (9/25/2008)
I think they are more common than this. Certainly I have seen them in San Francisco.
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Mo 10:48AM (9/25/2008)
These guys are all over the DC Metro area:
http://www.envirotaxicab.com/index.html
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