David Yassky

Yassky Bill to Increase Hybrid Cabs Approved by Council

The Council today passed legislation by Council Member David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) to greatly increase the number of hybrid cabs on the streets of New York City, and greatly reduce the amount of air pollution in the City by offering taxi owners significant incentives to switch to clean-burning cabs.

“This bill will give cab owners a powerful incentive to convert to clean-air vehicles,” Yassky said.  “With this new technology available and affordable, and this incentive in place, there is no good reason to keep hybrids out of the taxi fleet.  For the nearly one million New Yorkers living with asthma, the bill we passed today is a breath of fresh air.”

Under Yassky’s law, cab owners who agree to convert to a hybrid model would get to hold on to their cabs for a significantly longer amount of time, saving them thousands of dollars in replacement costs over the life of their medallion.  Current law requires that every five years, individually owned taxicabs be exchanged for newer models. Fleet taxicabs, or those vehicles that are used by more than one long-term driver, also have to be replaced every three years. 

For the better part of a decade, all four New York City boroughs monitored for air quality in the annual American Lung Association State of the Air Report received failing grades and the worst asthma rates in the country.  The City’s 13,000 cabs account for 10 percent of all cars in Manhattan and more than one-third of the motor vehicle emissions in Midtown and Downtown.

Hybrid electric vehicles get much higher gas mileage, and much lower emissions than standard vehicles by combining a gas engine with an electric engine.  Hybrids run on gasoline like a standard car. They switch easily from electric to gas, running entirely on electric at low speeds and shutting down when at a full stop.  The batteries never need to be plugged in; instead, they recharge internally, by the gas engine and by capturing energy from braking and coasting.

Taxicab operators are currently allowed to use a number of clean-burning vehicles. In the 18 months since the TLC permitted hybrids, taxicab owners have purchased thousands of new taxis, but only 14 of these vehicles were voluntarily converted to hybrids, and 200 were sold as new clean-air medallions.