Comments on: Melbourne’s Yellow Cabs go Green

By: No Name

No Name — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:42:38 +0000

Lexus do a 600 Hybrid, big enough and strong enough for a cabbie.

By: jamison

jamison — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:01:52 +0000

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…

By: Minnow

Minnow — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:23:05 +0000

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…

By: Andrew M

Andrew M — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:38:36 +0000

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

By: arlester

arlester — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:51:57 +0000

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

By: jaycar

jaycar — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:33:39 +0000

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…

By: realcars

realcars — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:19:16 +0000

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.

By: realcars

realcars — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:11:48 +0000

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.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 04:39:02 +0000

All this could be to do with next car to be produced at the Altona plant. eg the HYBRID CAMRY.

By: Chris Norton

Chris Norton — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:34:09 +0000

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).