On 28th February 2008 New York City unveiled new fuel emissions standards for the city's 10 000 black taxis. The limits will force the owners of black taxis to switch to hybrid technology within five years.
The move is part of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to decrease the city's carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 and comes less than a year after he announced the city's 13,000 yellow taxi cabs will go hybrid by 2012.
Black town cars - or "limos", short for limousines - service mostly corporate clients and are responsible for two percent of the city's transportation related emissions, Bloomberg said. He said the change will cut their emissions by half.
Hybrid cars are powered by a gasoline engine combined with an electric motor with batteries that recharge when the car is in motion.
