Southern Nevada switching over to ‘green’ cabs at moderate speed

By Tony Cook

Monday, May 28, 2007 | 6:07 a.m.

As the nation's largest city seeks to replace its entire taxicab fleet with hybrid vehicles over five years, Southern Nevada is taking a much less aggressive approach toward the environmentally friendly cars.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a plan last week to replace the city's entire yellow cab fleet - about 13,000 vehicles - with cleaner, fuel-efficient hybrids.

Although some of Southern Nevada's 16 taxicab companies also are moving in that direction, they are doing so much more slowly.

Lucky Cab, a 130-cab operation, bought four Prius hybrids two years ago but is still testing their performance. At least one other company, Whittlesea Bell Transportation, is giving hybrids a look and recently ordered a Ford Escape hybrid.

Hybrid vehicles, which run on a combination of gas and electricity, aren't the only alternative to traditional gasoline-fueled vehicles. A third local cab company, Yellow-Checker-Star Transportation, has converted about 90 percent of its 549 licensed cabs to run on propane.

Those statistics put Southern Nevada's 2,700-vehicle fleet on the map among cities with alternatively fueled taxicabs, according to Todd Sigaty, executive director of the New York-based Coalition for Smart Transportation.

"You can put Las Vegas in the top five cities," he said, referring to the number of cabs using alternative fuels.

Overall, Southern Nevada has the 12th largest taxicab fleet in the nation, according to Bruce Shaller, a New York-based transportation consultant who specializes in taxicab regulation. His data, from early 2006, have Southern Nevada's fleet at 1,587, just below Atlanta's 1,600. The Nevada Taxicab Authority, however, provides a widely divergent number, saying the fleet now totals 2,744, which would rank fourth behind New York (13,000), Chicago (6,900) and Washington, D.C. (6,800).

The Taxicab Authority, which regulates the industry here, hasn't even considered a broad mandate like the one in New York City. And cab companies here are hesitant to convert their fleets on a large scale, saying hybrids haven't proven themselves , even as other large fleets in Southern Nevada are stocking up on them.

Hybrids produce less pollution than gasoline-fueled vehicles and are far more fuel efficient.

Two hundred of Clark County's 2,700 government vehicles are hybrids and 70 percent are powered by alternative fuels such as biodiesel and compressed natural gas. Las Vegas' government has 85 hybrids in its 1,500-vehicle fleet, 87 percent of which use alternative fuels.

And the Regional Transportation Commission, which operates Southern Nevada's mass transit system, has 40 full-size hybrid buses among its 360. Seven more run on compressed natural gas.

One of the motivating factors among public fleets is a state requirement that 90 percent of new-vehicle purchases be fueled by alternative sources.

Taxicabs don't have to meet that requirement. Although the industry is regulated by the state, which awards permits to operators, the cabs are owned by private companies.

The Nevada Taxicab Authority has taken a hands-off approach on the issue, letting private operators and the free market determine how eco-friendly the state's taxi fleet should be.

Taxicab Authority Chairwoman Kathryn Werner said rising gasoline prices will likely encourage companies to move toward alternative-fuel vehicles .

"Obviously gas prices are going to continue to rise if recent history is any indication, so anything the industry can do to address that situation, such as hybrid vehicles, would save the certificate holders money in the long run," she said.

As for the cab companies, many have apprehensions about whether hybrids will hold up. Cabs can rack up 100,000 miles a year and many hit 400,000 miles before they are retired.

Jason Awad, owner of Lucky Cab Co., said his four Toyota Prius hybrids have performed well, making up for their higher initial cost with savings in gas. Lucky pays half the cost of gas, with its drivers picking up the other half.

The hybrids get about 35 miles per gallon, two to three times better than the company's Chevy Impalas and Ford Crown Victorias.

Rick Hammes, one of Lucky's drivers, says drivers fight over who gets to take out the hybrid vehicles.

"It makes a difference," he said. "You can save $20 a day out of your pocket."

Some cab operators are concerned about the size of the vehicles, but Hammes, at 6-foot-3, says space isn't a problem for him. He hasn't had any problems with luggage either, he said.

But Awad has some concerns, which go to the question of why Las Vegas taxis have been slow to shift to hybrids.

As the hybrids hit the 130,000-mile mark, Awad has found that some major parts fail - and they're not cheap.

In January, he had to replace one of the hybrid's inverters - essentially an alternator for the vehicles' electric component. That set him back $4,000. An alternator would have cost $50 to $150 to replace.

"It's easy to go 100,000 miles without having a problem," Awad said. "The true test has just begun."

Depending on how well the hybrids hold up, Awad is considering replacing 20 percent of his fleet with them.

Brent Bell, president of Whittlesea Bell Transportation, which operates Whittlesea and Henderson Taxi, just ordered his company's first hybrid. Potential gas savings motivated him to look into the Ford Escape as an alternative to his company's usual Explorers.

Like Awad, he wants to test the vehicle to see how it handles Southern Nevada's scorching temperatures and to assess whether the public likes it.

"There's a lot of demands on air conditioning out here," he said. "You are talking about a much smaller vehicle. That's why I want to put it on the road and see how the public receives it."

Other companies, however, don't seem interested.

"They don't fit what we do. They don't have enough room in our eyes," said Bill Shranko, director of operations for Yellow-Checker-Star. "The Crown Victoria, it really is such a reliable running car."

There are other ways to be environmentally friendly, he said, such as his company's use of propane fuel.

However, if hybrid manufacturers can meet his need for space and reliability, he said the fuel economy might be a tipping factor.

"It's something worth taking a look at," he said.