The city’s fleet of 13,000 yellow taxis spew 4 percent of all New York air pollution, but that figure could be substantially reduced if cabs were made even slightly more fuel efficient, according to a new report.
The Ford Crown Victoria – which accounts for 90 percent of city cabs – gets a paltry 10 mpg, said Jim Travers, associate editor of Consumer Reports magazine, which made the finding.
Were the Taxi and Limousine Commission to mandate that cabs be greener or even just a little environmentally friendlier, drivers would save $66 million a year in gasoline, the study found.
Consumer Reports put the Crown Victoria head to head with a Kia Rondo, a mini-SUV recently presented as one of several prototype taxis of the future. The Rondo isn’t a hybrid but gets close to 14 mpg in the city – a 40 percent improvement over the Crown Victoria, Travers said.
If the fleet included only Rondos, the cabs would save 22.2 million gallons of gasoline – and would reduce emissions by 88,400 tons of carbon dioxide. .