The Ultimate Test For Electric Gas Hybrid Cars: Taxis In New York City.

Electric Gas Hybrid Cars have already proven to be reliable, fuel efficient and to have remarkable resale value. Now they’re facing a far greater challenge: as taxi cabs in New York City and San Francisco.

With taxi driver’s gas bill rising to $50 dollars a day, as reported by The New York Times, desperate times call for fuel-efficient measures. The Big Apple’s answer was a fleet of Ford Escape Hybrids that on average saves $15 a day, that’s $450 a month!

NYC is one of the roughest tests a car can endure, especially if we’re talking about a taxi cab that runs 24/7, in traffic, and whose driver wants to get as many miles as possible in a single day.

Across the country, San Francisco’s hills and crowded streets are just as challenging, but the electric gas hybrid taxis seem to work out fine. According to the local TV station KTVU, owners of the hybrid taxi fleets say the investment is well worth it. The price difference between their Escape Hybrids and traditional Crown Victorias is compensated by $2,000 in environmental rebates and priceless free publicity. On top of that, his drivers report between $15 and $30 in gas savings per shift.

Introduced in 2005, San Francisco’s fleet is quickly approaching the 100,000-mile mark without any major problems. On top of gas savings, they report brakes are lasting twice as long and air conditioning cost on hot days is down to $5 a shift, says The Auto Channel.

Results in both cities have been so positive that Hybrid Technologies Inc., a company that designs and markets environmentally conscious products, is building a lithium-powered taxi that should be ready and running in the near future.

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