Editorial: Cost a factor for hybrids

Monday, June 4, 2007 | 7:07 a.m.

The announcement last month by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg that all of his city's 13,000 taxicabs would be converted to hybrids within five years naturally got us wondering: What about Las Vegas cabs?

Las Vegas Sun reporter Tony Cook, in a story last week, reported that the Nevada Taxicab Authority has no plans to follow Bloomberg's lead. It is allowing the private cab companies to decide for themselves how their cars are powered.

But that doesn't mean that Las Vegas cabs are all belching unmitigated greenhouse gases and toxins as they dart through or idle in our heavy traffic. Yellow-Checker-Star Transportation, for example, has converted about 90 percent of its 549 licensed cabs to run on cleaner-burning propane.

As for hybrids, however, cab companies are moving slowly for an understandable reason. Maintained properly, cabs can be driven 400,000 miles. But the maintenance includes parts, and parts for hybrids cost a fortune.

Lucky Cab Co., for example, recently had to replace an electrical component on one of its four hybrids. It cost $4,000. Such costs are a realistic consideration when you operate a fleet of vehicles. What Cook found is that cab companies here are adding a few hybrids to their fleets as tests, to see how they will hold up during our scorching summers and over time.

We hope car manufacturers take note of this, and begin producing heavy-duty hybrids if fleet operators ultimately reject the cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles. Hybrids, which run on emissions-free battery power when moving slowly or idling, are ideal for taxis - and cities desperate for cleaner air.