Environmental Leader

If you read this it will give you a better idea of the situation this mandate left us with here in Boston
As usual Mr. Moore only knows part of the story but feels the need to give his opinion as if it were fact. While I appreciate his concern for the environment we in the taxi industry have come to think of him as an angry little kid burning ants with a magnifying glass.

The gas savings figures Mr. Moore offers both in gallons and money are to say the least overstated. The hybrid taxis I have driven used roughly 60% of the gas I would have burned through when driving a Ford Crown Victoria. Mr. Moore also refuses to acknowledge now or when I have spoken to him in the past that taxi owners who have converted to hybrids have passed that conversion cost fully onto the backs of the men and women who rent their cabs. Taxi owners are now allowed to charge $18.00 extra per shift to the driver and most if not all force drivers to purchase a collision damage waiver for an addition $5.00 per shift completely offsetting any savings in gas to the driver. Further most of the hybrids that have been deployed as Boston Taxis lack the luggage space and seating capacity of a Ford Crown Victoria. I can honestly say that the nights I drove a hybrid it cost me a few trips because I was unable to accommodate the needs of the passengers.

Mr. Moore goes onto laud the Tutunjian family (owners of Boston Cab) for aggressively purchasing as many hybrids as they can. What Mr. Moore again leaves out is the dollars and cents Sir do you understand the buying power a fleet owner with 300 cabs has VS. a single cab owner or a man who merely leases a medallion? You are comparing a man with 300 taxis millions of dollars in real estate and a vineyard in South America with a man like myself who rents a medallion an apartment. Mr. Moore goes on to champion the Tutnjian family for the 100 more hybrids they will place into service this coming fall. Sir do you have any concept what this has done to the price of a hybrid? Toyota only manufactures so many and an even smaller number are shipped to Massachusetts, I invite you sir go try and buy one and get it this week. You simply can`t Tutunjian has them all already. Mr. Moore further ignores the money aspect by neglecting to mention that taxi insurance when deploying a hybrid is roughly $9,000 a year and large fleets like Boston Cab are reportedly self insured. I ask you again sir,as I asked you in person last summer,Where do we get the money?

The smart move sir would be for you to stick to placing windmills on ski chalets for the ultra rich and put away that magnifying glass… you have burned this ant to a crisp with your elitist meddling.

Michael J. Carter
mike@southiecab.com
In case anyone is wondering I have been a driver in Boston for ten years and unlike Mr. Moore actually have a clue.

http://boston-taxi-cab.com

http://southbostontaxi.com

Michael J. Carter | August 30th, 2009