"Ford Escape from Alcatraz", "Turning Yellow Cabs Green" and other horrible post titles I came up with

There are many things from San Francisco that I want to see here in NY - the Mission burritos and Coit Tower to name two* - but hybrid taxi cabs are near the top of the list now. adfreak informs us that two San Francisco cab companies introduced 15 hybrid Ford Escapes to their fleets. I like this not only as a part-time tree hugger and but also as a consumer.

According to the piece, the Ford Escapes get about 30 to 33 miles per gallon compared to just 12 to 14 on the conventional Crown Vics (the same as most NYC yellow cabs). And passing those savings on to the savings would be especially nice in SF since it is the most expensive city to, among other things, ride a cab in. I remember a few drunken nights when I was forced to cab it. Public transit forced me to go through downtown, which added like an extra hour to my trip, and MUNI at night was pretty much nonexistant. Of course, when I was drunk, $15 for a cab ride didn't seem all that bad.

I hardly ride cabs in NYC but I do like those yellow mini-SUVs and minivans that have been popping up more and more lately. I like the added headroom and the false sense of security. And hey, maybe they could pass the savings onto the riders and clean up the air a little.

*Other SF things I want to see in NY are dirt cheap dim sum, that Hawaiian restaurant near the park, thrift shops that are actually thrifty, cheaper avocados, North Beach restaurants, compost recycling, the N-Judah train, that hill with the view of the Pacific and Golden State and Sony Metreon. That's about it.