Government Bio Fuels and Hybrids – where are we?
You’ve seen the headlines. Hybrids work! Hybrids save money! Hybrids save fuel, and hybrids reduce pollution! But you wonder, do they really? For the past two years, New York City has been using Ford Escape hybrids as taxicabs. That is one of the toughest tests in the country. The hybrids are surviving and prospering. Cabbies make more money per shift driving hybrids because they use less fuel. As of November 28, 2007, more than 200 Ford Escape hybrid taxicabs have reached the 120,000-mile mark. On March 20, 2008, representatives of the Ford Motor Company reported that the first 18 hybrids delivered have just passed the 200,000-mile plateau. In San Francisco, hybrid cabs 9were put in service three years ago. A few of the hybrid cabs have already exceeded 300,000 miles. The Borough of Westwood, New Jersey, and Ogden City, Utah, have taken the bold step of showing that police departments can use hybrids without problems as patrol vehicles. Naysayers declare that it costs more to repair a
