Hybrid/Electric Public Transportation

I think that the biggest step in relieving the costs of transportation for the average American would be to make all forms of public transportation electric or hybrid, including taxis and busses.

Think about it; most of the taxis in New York are Ford Crown Vics.  With their V8 engines and all the starting and stopping they do in the city traffic, there’s no way they’re getting more than 10 mpg.  That’s a lot of gas, considering all the hundreds of taxis moving around every day.

Now replace all those Crown Vics with hybrid cars that would get perhaps 30 mpg.  The cost for the taxi company per mile driven is now 1/3 of what it was.  Instead of immediately thirding the per-mile cost for the customer, they could cut it back a little at a time to help recoup the cost of the hybrid cars.

This would be a MAJOR step forward.  Not only would people have a much cheaper way of getting to work and back, but it would be really good for the Earth.  Think of the carbon emissions that come from those hundreds of V8-powered smog machines every day.

There’s no telling what could happen once hybrid/electric technology is applied to other forms of public transportation, including busses.  There’s no better way to encourage public transportation than by making it a lot cheaper.

So yeah… if you’re reading this and you’re in charge of some taxi company, do it.  Thank you.

~ by rockdave on October 5, 2008.