Taxi Of Tomorrow: The UniCab?

The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission may have announced its Taxi of Tomorrow search years ago, but they've only just launched a new website for the project. The site was designed in hopes of connecting those interested in participating with some more details, such as the below requirements:

meets highest safety standards
superior passenger experience
superior driver comfort and amenities
appropriate purchase price and on-going maintenance and repair costs
smaller environmental footprint (lower emissions and improved fuel economy)
smaller physical footprint (with more useable interior room)
universal accessibility for all users with a goal of meeting ADA guidelines, (wheelchair accessible), and
iconic design that will identify the new taxi with New York City

AutoBlog is intrigued by the fully hybrid electric UniCab, which was created following the above guidelines, they note it looks nothing the present day (or past) taxi. Indeed. Can't someone make an environmentally friendly Checker cab?

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By Jen Carlson in News on June 1, 2010 5:34 PM

Comments [rss]

ReligiousWacko

there should be 2 classes of taxis. One small one for single passengers ( or 2 ) with limited or no luggage. This should serve vast majority of trips. The other class would be equivalent to todays land-tanks ( think those disgusting Ford Crown Vics ). Of course, the rates for land tanks should be 2x-4x the small ones.

mellow_fellow

Fabulous fact about AutoBlog: One of their "writers" once managed to kill a pedestrian while test driving a car.

gawkthis

is this the same commission that determined the baby ford explorers were a good replacement for the stretch crown victoria even though they have less than half the internal passenger room of the crown vic?

this is sounding like as useful an exercise as the current city council hearings on term limits being held by the same city council that sold out to bloomberg..

mellow_fellow

You must be referring to the Ford Escape hybrid, which is allowed to be used as a taxi precisely because it's a hybrid.

Think2wice

Johnny Cab

Guest

i demand a TOTAL RECALL. har-har.

Think2wice

dang nabbit, ya beat me to it!

Hackflack

PLEASE NOTE -- taxioftomorrow.com is NOT affiliated with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission as stated in the pioece above. To learn more about the Taxi of Tomorrow project, please visit www.nyc.gov/taxi.