Do Cabbies Dream Of Electric Taxis?

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jan 27, 2009 8:20PM

The city is testing out five new electric taxis in the downtown area but some cabbies aren't happy with the decision. The boundaries for the testing area are Oak Street to Polk and Lake Michigan to Clinton, selected because, according to Efrat Stein, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, the downtown area meets the needs for "short trips traveling at low speeds." Each four-door cab will be capable of seating four people (driver included).

It's all part of a larger plan by Mayor Daley, who previously introduced legislation that would allow electric cars to operate on streets where the speed limit is 30 mph or less. Several cabbies, including George Kasp who spoke to the Sun-Times about the story, have expressed trepidation over the electric taxis smaller sizes and slower speeds. According to the S-T story, "The city plans to use electric vehicles for Loop parking enforcement and curbside refuse pickup, crowd control and to shuttle employees between City Hall and the DePaul Center in the South Loop."