New York City's Yellow Cab Passengers to Help Choose `Taxi of Tomorrow'
New York’s “Taxi of Tomorrow” may be chosen with input from among the 600,000 riders who use yellow cabs daily in the most-populous U.S. city, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Karsan Otomotiv Sanayi & Ticaret AS of Turkey were named as finalists in a competition to design a new model for the city’s 13,237 taxi cabs. The mayor said he would ask each automaker to give the city its best offer within a month, after which a decision will be made whether to designate one as the sole supplier for the fleet.
“We’re asking for input from our most important stakeholders, and that’s the residents of New York City,” Bloomberg said at a City Hall news conference where he announced the creation of a survey page on the city’s www.nyc.gov website.
Those who fill out the form have a chance to enter a drawing to win one year of free taxi rides worth as much as $5,000, the mayor said. The survey asks passengers to rate the importance of several factors, including fuel economy, interior room, accessibility and amenities such as electric outlets to recharge cell phones.
City officials intend to save taxi owners money with one manufacturer for the entire fleet, with cars designed to be more durable to handle the city’s pothole-riddled roads and changing seasonal weather conditions over the course of a typical 70,000- mile year, Bloomberg said.
‘Too Risky’
Seven companies responded to the city’s request for proposals in December 2009. General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, “scored less on comfort, accessibility, durability and performance” than the three finalists, said Taxi & Limousine Commissioner David Yassky. Over five years, the contract may be worth as much as $750 million, Yassky said.
The proposal drew criticism from a group of taxi owners on the website www.yellowcabnyc.com. Relying on a sole manufacturer could lead to disruptions if the company fails to provide a steady flow of vehicles and parts, the group said.
“I think it’s too risky,” said Ron Sherman, president of the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, which represents 31 fleets with about 3,500 yellow cabs combined.
Cabs have a life cycle of about three to five years, after which they must be replaced. If the city designates a model cab, the entire fleet would change over to the new vehicles within about five years, according to the Taxi & Limousine Commission.
Current Fleet
The current fleet has 16 models from nine manufacturers, including 3,983 hybrids, five that run on compressed natural gas and 17 “clean diesel” cabs, the commission said in a news release. The yellow cab became the uniform color by law in 1967.
While the city has set standards for taxis in the past, it has never worked with the auto industry to design a cab specifically for New York, the mayor said. Taxi passengers spend more money than is spent in subways and buses combined, Bloomberg said.
Of the cars, Ford has the longest history in the business; Nissan’s cab design was the roomiest and had the capacity to switch to electric power, and Karsan built the only wheelchair- accessible cab, yet had the least experience in the industry, Yassky said.
The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.
To contact the reporter on this story: Henry Goldman in New York City Hall at hgoldman@loomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net.
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