Hybrid Cabs Take A Licking...But Their Meters Keep On Ticking - GreenHybrid

bwilson4web · #1 (**permalink**) 04-20-2006, 12:55 PM

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Fuel savings between $20 and $31 over the traditional, full-size sedan cabs per 150- to 300-mile shifts. Air conditioning cost on hot days: $5 a shift, about half the sedan-version cost. Brakes are lasting twice as long. The reason: The electric engine acts as a second braking system, taking much of the load off the conventional friction brakes, says Tom Watson, Ford Hybrid Electric Vehicle Propulsion System engineering manager, Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Programs. Several water pumps blew at the 50,000-mile mark, a situation that’s been rectified, say Watson and San Francisco cab company owners. No legroom complaints from customers, who seem delighted by the novelty of the hybrid and by doing the right thing for the planet.

“Everybody wants to drive them,” says Hal Mellegard, general manager of Yellow Cab, which has 23 Escape Hybrid taxis in its fleet. “For the company, it’s strictly good PR, but it’s money in the drivers’ pockets since they pay for their own gas.”

John Lazar, president of Luxor Cab, which owns seven Escape Hybrid vehicles, also is pleased: “Drivers love ’em. They’re burning about a third of the fuel they used to.”

“It’s nice to have an SUV that does so well environmentally and saves me about $5,000 a year,” adds Allen Gotschberg, a Luxor driver who just rolled over 102,000 miles on his Escape Hybrid taxi.

Both cab companies report they’ll wait until the cabs have 125,000 to 150,000 miles on them before making final judgment on the new genre, but the city’s goal is to have half its taxi fleet powered by cleaner-energy sources — hybrids and compressed natural gas — by 2008, says Heidi Machen, San Francisco taxi commissioner.

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This is excellent fleet data and a strong statement for the Ford Escape. I realized the engine in our Prius was going to last a long time due to the lower power stresses. Except for the water pump, the Ford Escape is likly to suffer the same advantage, longer than expected life.

Bob Wilson

Double-Trinity · #2 (**permalink**) 04-20-2006, 04:25 PM

Taxi driving is perfectly suited for Hybrids, as so much of the time typical taxis are idling, waiting to load/unload people and cargo, and stopping and going in fairly low-speed traffic, essentially the optimal environment for a power-split type hybrid (Ford, Toyota), and the worst possible environment for a large sedan like the Crown Victoria, as far as fuel economy is concerned.

Pravus Prime · #3 (**permalink**) 04-20-2006, 11:05 PM

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Everybody wants to drive them,” says Hal Mellegard, general manager of Yellow Cab, which has 23 Escape Hybrid taxis in its fleet. “For the company, it’s strictly good PR, but it’s money in the drivers’ pockets since they pay for their own gas.”

John Lazar, president of Luxor Cab, which owns seven Escape Hybrid vehicles, also is pleased: “Drivers love ’em. They’re burning about a third of the fuel they used to.”

“It’s nice to have an SUV that does so well environmentally and saves me about $5,000 a year,” adds Allen Gotschberg, a Luxor driver who just rolled over 102,000 miles on his Escape Hybrid taxi.

Seems a rather telling statement to me.

Always good to hear.