Almost time to buy,I would appreciate advice

the "trunk" has some serious room....but it does not compair to the traditional crown royal taxi's trunk. they could sit up frount and then the back seat would fold down.....but you might not want to do that.

The initail cost is greater if you get a prius, but ,esp with a taxi serivce, the saving in gas would be phanomanal in just a year.

 

You may want to contact taxi operators in Vancouver BC or Winnipeg where they use the Prius as taxis

 

The Province of Manitoba seems to think the Prius is worth it

http://www.gov.mb.ca/mit/taxicab/documents/newsaug07.pdf

Give Duffy's Taxi a call, they also really like the Prius

1100 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0N8
Telephone : 204-925-0101

A surprising number of the Prius taxi's here are purchased new. The usual claim is that the fuel savings alone provide a 3 year ROI

 

the prius can't handle a lot of weight, the trunk is tiny when the back seats are in the upright position, you might want to split your purchases, meaning if you want to have 8 taxis than buy 4 prius and 4 highlander hybrids, or 4 prius and 4 escape hybrids.

use the prius for cross-town traffic and the suv hybrids for pickup/dropoff to the airports where the extra size and weight capacity will be advantageous.

 

well I have every option avail back then except I have no leather (thank god), I know the leather package was #9, so I assumed that meant I had 8, but then again it varies from region to region. I'm just glad I got seaside blue which was the only attractive color pre-2007, they came out with a very attractive new blue for '08 and that gorgeous barcelona red back in '07

that hidden storage can't fit more than a brief case, and if I was a taxi customer I wouldn't want you to put something in a hidden compartment for fear I might forget it at the destination. Besides, the taxi company would be wise to hide a large flashlight, firstaid kit, and 12-volt air compressor in that hidden compartment, which is what I keep in mine, so that doesn't leave much room for storage.

do you really think the prius can fit a family of 4 and all of their luggage?
The prius would make a great cross-town taxi for business men traveling b/t the hotel and the convention, it just wouldn't make the cut for airport duty. When was the last time you were at the airport?, most taxi services don't even send their crown vics or any other sedans to the airport, its usually a minivan due to the extensive luggage people carry, and the rear suspension of minivans can handle more weight than most sedans, especially the prius.

Speaking of which, the Sienna is supposed to be avail in a hybrid soon which would make a better choice than a highlander hybrid or an escape hybrid, so if i would start an all-hybrid taxi service with say 7 taxis i would buy 4 prius and 3 sienna hybrids.

 

Be careful of the "fold down the seat" suggestion. Since you mentioned you might buy a 'Classic' i.e. '01-'03 sedan - the back seat DOES NOT FOLD! The newer models have a split folding rear seat.

The cargo space in a new Prius (14.4 cu ft.) is about the same as a Camry SE or XLE. The cargo space of a HYBRID Camry is only 10.6 cu ft.

(Oddly, the '04 and '05 Prii listed at 16 cu ft. Did something change or did it get remeasured? Maybe they are excluding the 'basement' tray??)

I agree that you would have to be somewhat cautious with your passenger choices. While you CAN fit a fair bit in the back of an '04 and newer, HOW much is dependent on how you pack it. I know people that think one BIG hard-sided suitcase per person with everything they could possibly need is the only way to travel. You can get a lot more in with a couple of smaller soft bags each. But, YOU don't get to pack your passengers' bags for their vacation