Hybrid cab trial for Sydney

Sydney taxi company, Legion Cabs, has begun a two-year hybrid vehicle trail. The trial is taking place in Sydney and involves a single Toyota Prius.

Approval has been forthcoming from the NSW Government. It is expected that the Toyota will cover in excess of 400,000km during the trial.

“We are researching how the hybrid technology of the Prius stands up in an economical sense for taxi users,” said John McPherson, general manager, Legion Cabs.

“Vehicle choice in the taxi industry is all about minimising running costs and downtime. If there is an alternative to the traditional vehicles that may be beneficial to us, we are obliged to investigate," he said.

One-month into the trail feedback has already been positive, claims Toyota. The company claims fuel consumption of less than 6.0lt/100km is being achieved by the Prius cab.

As more alternative fuel efficient cars enter the local marketplace, the 'Hybrid versus conventional petrol versus diesel' debate continues to heat up. CarPoint will examine the issues and look at the relative costs in the near future...