Hybrid Taxis Not a Good Idea

Oct. 9 - Two of the world's largest automakers, Toyota and Honda, have issued outright warnings against using their hybrid passenger vehicles as commercial taxicabs.

In late 2007, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) mandated that all new taxis, the vast majority of which are required to have partitions, be hybrids or other vehicles that achieve 25 miles-per-gallon, but a 2008 engineer's report that finds hybrids to be unsafe and unfit as New York City taxicabs.

In response to an August, 2008 request that companies certify their hybrids or alternative fuel vehicles are manufacturer-approved to beused as taxicabs, a spokesman for Honda said "Honda vehicles are not sold or recommended for use as taxicabs."

Toyota, the largest manufacturer of hybrids in the world, reportedly has not responded to the request. A Toyota spokesperson told theNew York Times on April 27, that "our engineers are nervous about it because they were not designed for commercial use." According to the
article, "Toyota did not help convert cars into taxis because they were not intended to be driven so heavily."

Additional concerns over crashworthiness of taxis fitted with partitions between the driver and passengers have surfaced. Ford, General Motors and Nissan have refused to certify the crashworthiness of their hybrid New York City taxicabs when fitted with the mandatory
partitions.