New York City Loses Again in Bid to Force Hybrid Taxis

New York City lost again (AP Story) in their battle to revamp the cities taxis into more fuel efficient fleets. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty sided with the cab companies (once again), stating the city could not interfere with the federal jurisdiction to mandate laws relating to mileage or emissions.

New York City officials, after failing in their bid to mandate hybrid taxis, wanted to put in incentives (pdf) instead. In this case, the new rules would allow hybrid cab owners to charge more for their rentals, while more gas-hungry vehicles would see their rates slowly decrease.

"We do not believe that Congress intended to prohibit local governments from implementing incentive programs ... that encourage the purchase of environmentally friendly taxis. We are exploring our legal options," Michael A. Cardozo, head of the city's law department said in a statement.

The Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said it applauded the ruling for preventing the city "from imposing drastic financial penalties that would severely punish taxi fleets that operate nonhybrid vehicles."

"We have always preferred to work with the city of New York to adopt a viable plan for a safe, reliable, comfortable, economical and fuel-efficient taxi fleet. We renew that commitment today," it added. (Source: AP Story)

Considering the MTBOT has been the lead plaintiff in disallowing the plans set forth by the city to impose hybrid and more fuel efficient vehicles on the streets of NYC (plus this statement), that last statement seems a little off to me.