Melbourne’s Yellow Cabs go Green
February 13, 2008 by Matt Brogan
Melbourne – Premier John Brumby announced yesterday that 50 per cent of the annual allocation of peak cab licenses (3pm-7am) will be made available for hybrid cars over the coming year.
The announcement was made following the Premier’s visit to Toyota in Japan where he toured the plant, taking keen interest in hybrid technology vehicles.
With each hybrid cab expected to cut CO2 emissions by an average of two tonnes a year, and saving $5,000 of fuel, the opportunity is expected to be attractive to operators. New hybrid licenses will also be $5000 cheaper than their petrol counterparts.
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OK……..
So are we talking Prius size cars for Taxis, or something else?
Is a Prius that much cheaper to run than an LPG Falcodore? I wouldn’t think so.
How many Prius’ will make a half million km – NONE!
I can see the CO2 emissions bit but this seems a bit underdone in the thinking dept. Needs more work but a start I guess.
Can’t see how this is going to work??
A Hybrid car cost A LOT MORE to start with and I would have thought their size will be a problem for passengers.
If the environmental protection is the main factor in this decision, they obviously considered that LPG is more environmentally friendly than petrol… Or why not even promote use of small turbo diesel cars (with after market particulate filters).. economy of these cars has proven to be almost as good as hybrids in the city
Alec makes a good point, I think this idea has some fundamental flaws.
Sure it shows they’re at least thinking outside the box, but most pollies wouldn’t know their ass from their elbow when it comes to cars, and as they’re chauffer driven to work in LTDs/Caprices etc aren’t really in touch with the average commuter’s needs (be it Public Transit, Taxi, Car, etc).
How about asking the rest of us our ideas before making decisions that do little besides cost us money?
at least its a step in some sort of direction
I still want a LPG powered Prius! :-)
Cheers
F-0
They also don’t realise a Prius needs a new battery every 100,000 miles, adding to the environmental impact and cost of running a Hybrid.
The petrol hybrid can’t compete with a diesel fuel consumption on highway cycle, only in the stop start city does it come close…..Peugeot will show Toyota how it should be done with their diesel hybrid 308!!!
Frugal One, you are spot on with lpg…if Toyota like the petrol hybrid so much why in hell isn’t the prius lpg only or at least a factory option… Toyota are HALF DUNERS in this case!!!
interesting..this Brumby exercise could expose Prius for all that it is not!
The real problem here isn’t how much fuel or CO2 the cabs produce, its that we need good public transport in Australia, that would solve a lot of problems.
Too true! Public transport in Oz is a joke compared to similar sized cities overseas. We really could do a lot better.
I’m wondering just how long it will take before roads are at a stand still because of it.
Perfect example – I live 9km from the CBD. During peak hour this morning it took me almost an hour to get to work (driving).
I have no viable option in terms of Pub Trans as this would mean two trains and a tram which equates to two hours!
If the gov’t want to get real about our growing transport needs, then it’s high time so BIG steps were made instead of pissing about with Hybrids and the likes.
I think it’s good that hybrid vehicles are being taken seriously and pushed forward. Especially for taxis that, let’s face it, spend an awful lot of time sitting still while running their engines.
In terms of cost, with these new licenses hybrids will be significantly cheaper within a year or two, even accounting for the extra cost of the hybrid up front. And, while everyone is getting worked up about the Prius, please remember that the Prius is over 10 years old now and that new hybrids (especially diesel/LPG versions) would solve most of the problems discussed.
I do think that more work needs to be done on public transport since it’s really the better option if you’re serious about reducing carbon emissions. It’s currently too slow and unreliable, doesn’t cover much area at all and is quite expensive. I’d like to see a more aggressive approach taken to rolling out new public transport (new lines, new vehicles, etc).
All this could be to do with next car to be produced at the Altona plant. eg the HYBRID CAMRY.
It would be interesting to know how much a set of Batteries for the Prius costs? Also environmental cost of Batteries would also have to be high. Diesel Hybrid sounds the go as Diesel more efficient to start with especially under constant load and narrow rev range.
Unfortuately I don’t think public transport will improve anytime soon given our population density/urban sprawl issues. Margaret Thatcher set the precedent to ensure no English speaking country runs a public transport system at a sizable loss for the benefit of it’s citizens or anything runs at a loss for the public good.
It is a step in the right direction, albeit not very well thaught out. The real problem that needs to be looked at is our poor public transport system. Run high speed train network through the citylink infrastructure for instance. Whilst in Japan Mr Brumby instead of being chauffered around in black s-class mercs, he should have caught the amazing train stystem, hygenically clean stations, non graffiti trains that are fast, and on time……. or why not build another freeway on top of the existing system, L.A. style…
Here in Townsville we are already using the prius as taxis. They do well and are fine for the amount of people here but i doubt if any of them have reched 100,000 miles yet
i just love the way the government gets people to do something by bullying them with $$$
so if you drive a classified fuel guzzler they want to sting you 5K where in the UK they try and call it a “congestion tax”
i wonder how many taxis will actually take this up?
i mean its already been documented that an LPG falcon is cheaper to run than a prius just on fuel alone not to mention the premium charged for a hybrid
I agree andrew! why would taxi fleets take up this option when they know parts are cheaper for the locals, the fleets know the car well and there is barely any difference in running cost. And what dumb taxi fleet these days would use petrol as their main fuel…
you guys dont know much about taxis do yous?
okay Im not a taxi driver but find myself being taken home most weekend mornings..
anyways, the car itself doesnt matter in terms of price… the license cost around $250,000 or was it $500,000…. AUD.
So if the car cost $10,000 more it doesnt matter considering the amount it cost to get the license period…
and besides, the car is a tax write off… most of it.
and There are Camry Hybrids over here in the states…
Prius.. lol… in the next 5 years, most sedans should have a Hybrid model…
Lexus do a 600 Hybrid, big enough and strong enough for a cabbie.