The Major Cities are already switching to hybrid.

[stephendare]

Cities Take Lead On Environment As Debate Drags At Federal Level

522 Mayors Have Agreed To Meet Kyoto Standards
By Anthony Faiola and Robin Shulman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, June 9, 2007; Page A01

NEW YORK -- To the long list of evils being blamed on global warming -- hurricanes, heat waves, melting ice caps -- tack on the smaller interior of Steve Benesoczky's cab. Inside, his passengers can already feel the squeeze of climate change in their knees.

"Of course it's less comfortable. Look, there's less leg room," said Benesoczky, 55, as he pointed to the back of his new taxi -- a hybrid Ford Escape.
   
The company Benesoczky works for has started complying with a new directive ordering New York's entire fleet of 13,000 yellow cabs to go green over the next five years -- part of an effort by the nation's largest city to cut its carbon emissions 30 percent by 2030.

Most taxis here are now roomy-if-gas-guzzling Ford Crown Victorias. But hundreds of boxy hybrid cabs have already hit the roads, gradually altering the autoscape of Manhattan's glittering byways.

"Some people are complaining -- especially the tall ones -- but most are saying, 'Finally, you're doing something for the environment,' " said Benesoczky, a Hungarian