GLOBE EDITORIAL
Boston’s hybrid compromise
August 24, 2009
NOW THAT a federal judge has told the City of Boston that it cannot require all taxi owners to switch to hybrid cars by 2015, the city should work out a compromise allowing for used hybrids. There are other options - Boston could appeal the ruling or wait for Congress to amend the law that stands in the way of the new-hybrid mandate. But if the goal is to reduce cabs’ exhaust emissions and improve their fuel efficiency as quickly as possible, a settlement with the owners makes all the sense in the world.
The city laid down the all-hybrid rule a year ago at the same as it permitted taxi owners to raise their fares in response to the spike in gasoline prices to more than $4 a gallon. Especially in stop-and-go city driving, hybrids provide far better mileage than the refurbished police sedans that many taxi owners use. Even without city encouragement, taxi owners should find it advantageous to convert, especially if they can buy used hybrids.
Earlier this month, US District Court Judge William G. Young ruled that a 1975 law on energy conservation set national fuel standards for vehicles and prohibited local officials from setting their own. His decision echoed one by a federal judge in New York, which blocked a push for hybrid taxis in that city. In San Francisco, the mayor and the president of Yellow Cab have worked together to make the switch. Although hybrids there are still a minority, they have proved their durability: The first 15 Ford Escapes ran up 300,000 miles.
It is in the interest of both Boston officials and taxi owners to curb the increases in fares that have made the city’s cab rates among the highest in the country. Switching to hybrids, new or used, is the quickest way to reach that goal.
© Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
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