NEW YORK YELLOW CAB OWNERS SUE OVER GREEN PLAN
09.17.08 - Leído 23 veces. Enviar esta notaEdith Honan
A group of New York taxi owners is suing the city over a plan to turn the entire fleet of cabs “green” by 2012, saying the plan compromises safety and is unconstitutional
NEW YORK, US; September 17, 2008.- Under the plan, promoted as an environmental model for other large cities, every new taxi must get at least 30 miles per gallon (7.8 litres/100 km), a target now met by hybrid and clean diesel cars.
The Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, an association of taxi owners accounting for about a quarter of the city’s 13,000 yellow cabs, filed a complaint in Manhattan federal court late seeking an injunction to keep the regulation from taking effect.
There are already about 1,400 hybrid taxis in the city, the Taxi and Limousine Commission said.
Hybrid vehicles are powered by a combination of gasoline and electricity. They emit less exhaust and have better gas mileage than other vehicles.
According to the lawsuit, only the federal government, not city officials, has the power to set fuel emission and efficiency standards.
Moreover, hybrid cars “have never been meaningfully tested and have no proven record of safety or reliability as commercial vehicles,” the lawsuit said, noting that taxi cabs endured much heavier use than normal private vehicles, often being driven for 24 hours a day.
“While a decision to announce the immediate change to ‘clean’ taxis might be politically enticing and expedient, it is also irresponsible, dangerous and illegal,” the suit said.
New York Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Matthew Daus said in a statement the agency was moving ahead with its plan, “as it is the responsible thing to do.”
“I want to send a clear and unequivocal message to the riding public that hybrid-electric taxicabs are absolutely safe, as are all taxicabs that we regulate and inspect, and that they (riders) may hail them with complete confidence,” Daus added.
(Reuters)
Enlaces Relacionados
