Well, the Envirocabs are on the streets. I took this picture of one at the East Falls Church metro station taxi stand last week. With this photo I was the winner of the contest over at the Green Miles blog.
Then on Friday I needed to catch a cab from Ballston to Georgetown. There was a line of four cabs at the stand on Fairfax Drive, and an Envirocab was last in line. I boldly strode to his cab and got in. I know the protocol is to take the first cab in line, but as an environmentalist, I preferred to take the Prius. I told the driver to tell the cabs ahead of him that--no offense to them--I chose his cab because it was an Envirocab. Hopefully it will get some of those other drivers thinking about switching over (I know the company is still seeking more drivers). I had a nice conversation with my driver. He said he was pleased to be driving an Envirocab and he was now spending only about $15 per day in gas instead of $60. He did note that his miles were down because he was working stands and not dispatch (in which he would be getting more airport and longer distance calls). However, even assuming he would only save $20 per day, that's $5000/year he keeps in his pocket. Not bad.
He got me to my appointment right on time, and I told him I hoped to be riding with him again soon. For more info, go to their website at http://www.envirotaxicab.com/.
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Steve Offutt, Arlington Envirocab user
I took my first Envirocab ride this weekend to Georgetown- a very quiet and smooth ride! I hope the fleet keeps expanding!
Posted by: Carly Nider | February 12, 2008 at 01:44 PM
Oooh, that's quite the revolutionary move, skipping to the enviroCAB! I love it. But what do the other cab drivers have to complain about? If Red Top and others had switched to hybrids sooner, enviroCAB would never have had a market opening to begin with. Tough luck, Crown Victorias!
Posted by: TheGreenMiles | February 11, 2008 at 12:12 PM