Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Hybrid Taxis - A Case Study In Government Failure



"Did you know that in the cab line at the airport (Boston) you can request a HYBRID taxi???"

That was Mrs. C-Nut provoking me late last night.

Nationwide, cabs are a disaster. They are over-regulated, too expensive, and too scarce all at once.

I used to live a mere 10 miles from Boston's Logan Airport and yet cabs to there cost a ridiculous $50. Since then, rates have gone up some more (ostensibly on account of gasoline).

And since then, Boston, like New York City, has been pushing to make cabs rolling idols for the eco-pagans; they've been trying to mandate hybrid taxis. In fact NYC, had their green ambitions temporarily thwarted by a judge. Read here.

Hybrids aren't built for the wear-and-tear of passengers, they are a cost burden on taxi companies - being far more expensive to buy and insure than Crown Victorias and the like, AND hybrids will endanger the safety of riders. These toys fold up like sardines in accidents.

I don't know about y'all, but I am already scared-to-death riding a cab on FDR Drive in Manhattan. I'm right sure I don't to ride that roller-coaster in a Prius lawnmower - at a steeper price to boot!

Cabs, like almost everything else on this planet, need less regulation - not more.

See also - Pluming Prius Putzes.

2 comments:

Paul Mitchell said...

Dang, that is one ugly cab and I bet it rides like a log truck.

Taylor Conant said...

Fun factoid you could've shared with everyone, C-- taxi medallions in NYC date back to the Great Depression!

What happens when you find yourself in a depression and you already had a medallion system before you got there?