San Francisco law mandates that, by 2011, taxi companies operating in the City must average no more than 38 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually per fleet vehicle.
In order to meet 2011 emission standards, at least three-quarters of the cabs in every cab company’s fleet will need to be hybrid and/or alternative fuel vehicles. Photo by Maya
By Bill Picture
Published: July, 2009
San Francisco law mandates that, by 2011, taxi companies operating in the City must average no more than 38 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually per fleet vehicle.
Getting the cab companies to work towards compliance with the new emissions standard has been a challenge, says Jordanna Thigpen, Enforcement & Legal Affairs Manager for the S.F. Municipal Transportation Agency’s Division of Taxis and Accessible Services.
Last month, however, Thigpen reported that, since the legislation was signed into law in March of 2008, the average for The City’s entire fleet—1,400 cabs in all—has already been significantly reduced. “I am happy to report that, last quarter, the average for the entire fleet was 38.13,” says Thigpen. “It’s only been a year, and we’ve already come leaps and bounds from where we were then.”
Keep in mind, though, that this number is the combined average for all thirty of the cab companies currently operating in San Francisco. While some are being proactive, biting the bullet and replacing retired vehicles—vehicles are usually retired after three years—with hybrid and/or alternative fuel vehicles, others are dragging their feet because of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles’ higher price tags.
“And, if we allow them to do that, then they’re going to have to replace multiple vehicles at once when 2011 rolls around, which will be a huge, prohibitive expense,” Thigpen adds.
To put the new, city-set emissions standard into context, a traditional taxi, such as the Ford Crown Victoria, averages about 70 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. In order for a cab company to bring down its average to meet the 2011 goal, Thigpen says it will have to offset every higher-emission vehicle with three lower-emissions vehicles.
A new attitude
Rather than leaving the cab companies to their own devices, the City is monitoring them closely and requiring that new vehicle purchases be run by Thigpen’s office, whose job it has become to help change the way that the taxi industry thinks.
Each of the cab companies currently operating in San Francisco is being required to submit a plan outlining how it will green its fleet. To date, all but eight of those companies have added hybrid and/or alternative fuel vehicles to their fleets.
It should be mentioned, however, that the City’s program only applies to the 1,400 non-handicap-accessible vehicles on the streets. The 100 handicap-accessible cabs in rotation are exempt from the program, as there are currently no hybrid or alternative fuel minivans on the market.
Minimizing up-front expenses in order to maximize profits has been the traditional model of good business. Over the last few years, however, more and more businesses have learned that the added up-front expense and inconvenience of greening business practices is, in the long run, better for both the environment and the bottom line.
“We’re trying to help them make smarter choices so they can comply with the law,” Thigpen explains.
Sweetening the pot
To help taxi companies recoup some of the additional costs of purchasing hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles, which are also more expensive to maintain, The City is allowing the taxi companies to charge drivers an additional $7.50 per shift to drive one of the new green cabs.
At first glance, passing the added cost onto drivers seems unfair. But, because hybrids use significantly less gas than traditional cabs, a cabbie driving one actually stands to end up with more money in his or her pocket at the end of a busy shift.
“Back when gas was around $4 per gallon, someone driving a Crown Victoria was spending about $65 each shift on gas, where I was spending about $20 driving a Prius,” says Athan Rebelos, General Manager of SF Green Cab, the City’s first all-green, worker-run cab cooperative. “Now that gas prices have come down, I’m only paying $5 or $6 per shift in the Prius.”
To further encourage cab companies to factor the environment into their decision-making process, The City is also managing a program that reimburses cab companies $2,000 of the purchase price of a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle, provided they comply with the program’s rules. That program was created by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
“We’ve been managing the program for them since late 2007,” says Jordanna Thigpen of The City’s Division of Taxis and Accessible Services. “We’ve sent out several checks already, and there’s another $500,000 in grants currently in the pipeline.”
A greener state of mind
Logically, a passenger’s ride from Point A to Point B should be no different in a green cab than it is in a traditional cab. The trip takes just as long and costs just as much. Still, green cab drivers say they notice a difference in their customers’ attitudes.
“They just seem like they’re in a better mood,” explains Athan Rebelos of SF Green Cab. The company’s fleet currently consists of eleven hybrid vehicles, and several more green cabs will be added to its fleet next month.
“I’ve been driving a cab for 23 years,” he says. “And, usually, people are cranky because either they’ve been waiting for a while, or they’re in a hurry. Our customers generally chat with us and tell us how cool it is to be in a green cab.”
Rebelos says that some of SF Green Cab’s regular customers are willing to go to unusual lengths to ensure that their transportation to and from a given point is in sync with their own green leanings.
“They’ll wait longer for a green cab, or some of them will even email me three or four days before to schedule a pickup, which is unheard of,” he says. “It’s pretty amazing.”
“People seem to really like the hybrid cabs,” adds Jordanna Thigpen of the City’s Division of Taxis and Accessible Services. “Some customers even prefer them. From what I can tell, anecdotally, those customers seem to appreciate that these companies are doing their part to help improve air quality. And I guess they look at taking a green cab as just one more way that they can do their part to help.”
For more information on the City of San Francisco’s Division of Taxis and Accessible Services, visit www.sfmta.com/cms/xhome/hometaxi.htm.
TAXI NUMBERS
30: The number of taxi companies operating in San Francisco
1400: The number of taxis on San Francisco’s streets
(does not include ADA-accessible taxis)
8: The number of taxi companies that have not yet purchased a single hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle
3: The average number of years that a taxi is driven before it’s replaced
$5: The amount of gas a hybrid taxi uses per shift
65: The number of tons of greenhouse gases that a traditional taxi (non-hybrid) emits annually
38: The average per-vehicle number of greenhouses gases that taxi companies must comply with, effective Jan. 1, 2011
SF Green Cab is the first cab company in San Francisco to boast an all-hybrid fleet.
Most cab companies charge drivers an added surcharge to drive a green cab, but drivers make up for it at the fuel pump. Hybrid cabs use about one-third less gas. Photo by SF Green Cab
