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John Felice, director of Ford's North American Fleet, Lease and Remarketing Organization said:

?Ford was the first company with a hybrid taxi on the streets of New York City, and we're proud that three-quarters of the city's hybrid fleet is the Ford Escape Hybrid, we look forward to working with Mayor Bloomberg and city officials on their future taxi plans.?

?The Ford Escape Hybrid, which gets 36 miles per gallon in city driving, is an ideal candidate for the city's taxi fleet?, Felice added. The hybrid, which runs on a combination of gas and electricity, more than meets the plan's target of 30 miles per gallon by 2009. With hundreds of thousands of miles accumulated over the past two years, there has been an estimated fuel savings of $250,000 for the city's initial fleet of 18 Hybrid taxis.

According to the city, the increase in fuel efficiency stands to save taxi operators more than $10,000 per year.

?We expect these new standards will save 22 million gallons of fuel in the first year, and that is only the beginning of what we will be able to accomplish,? said Matthew Daus, New York City Taxi and Limousine commissioner.

The planned shift to hybrid taxis addresses the mayor's wider sustainability plan for the city including a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. The Escape Hybrid is partial zero emission vehicle (PZEV)-certified, emitting less exhaust than non-hybrid cabs. ?Implementing tougher standards for the taxis in this city will provide the same clean-air benefits as removing 32,000 privately owned cars from our streets, which will significantly reduce the air pollution that causes childhood asthma?, Bloomberg said. ?This will also decrease the fuel costs for taxi drivers, making this a win for the public and operators alike.?

Gene Friedman of 28th Street Management, a taxi fleet owner with hundreds of Escape Hybrid taxis in service, is a vocal supporter of the Ford Hybrid taxi program and Mayor Bloomberg's initiative. ?I think clients will be happy to take a hybrid cab, because it benefits the environment?, Friedman said.

Fernando Mateo, president of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, an advocacy trade group, supports the city's decision to go 'green'. ?In the short term, (taxi drivers will) have to spend more money, but in the long run they will save money?, he said.