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UK's largest Prius Taxi Company says Prius is safe

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by GrumpyCabbie, Feb 9, 2010.

  1. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    A little subject close to my heart and also loosely connected to the Gen3/2010 Prius Braking issue.

    BBC News - Prius minicab firm 'not worried'

    If it's good enough for them to run their Prius fleet then it's certainly good enough for me :D
     
    #1 GrumpyCabbie, Feb 9, 2010
  2. DarrenG

    DarrenG Member

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    At last, someone with some common sense. This issue has been massively over-hyped so nice to see some balance from the BBC at last.
     
    #2 DarrenG, Feb 9, 2010
  3. Rhino

    Rhino New Member

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    I think there is a difference between professional drivers who drives 8 or more hours a day not being worried and the consumer not being worried. The consumer may be somebody who just got his/her driver license and first car.
     
    #3 Rhino, Feb 9, 2010
  4. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    8 hours a day? :D
     
    #4 GrumpyCabbie, Feb 9, 2010
  5. socratesthecabdriver

    socratesthecabdriver Member

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    i wish it was only 8 hours for me here in greece my min is 10 my average is 11 hours and if it's bussy i put in more than 12 hours:(
     
    #5 socratesthecabdriver, Apr 26, 2010
  6. halpos4

    halpos4 "Taxi"!

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    +1
     
    #6 halpos4, Apr 26, 2010
  7. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Me too. I do a 10 hour shift over 6 days with 2 days off. I do try and find 30 mins for a cup of tea and a bite to eat though.

    If it's busy then I can get a few more hours in but if I do this I will normally have a couple hours break before heading out again.
     
    #7 GrumpyCabbie, Apr 26, 2010
  8. mmichaell

    mmichaell Member

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    GrumpyCabbie - a side question - with all the stop and go traffic, and idling for customers, how much gas do you save daily/weekly as opposed to a typical non-hybrid car over there? Am curious if the Prius helps lots esp. since it shuts the engine off when idling, etc.
     
    #8 mmichaell, Apr 26, 2010
  9. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    OK, will give you a quick run down in the fuel economies of UK taxi cabs (excluding the London Black Cabs).

    Some of the big cities here insist that a taxi is the London style Black Cab [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TX4]TX4 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] but these are expensive, thirsty for fuel and not very comfortable for the driver. Most other cities usually licence what we class as large saloon (sedan) cars, what you probably class as medium cars. These include VW Passats and many European typre cars of similar size, Ford Mondeo [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondeo]Ford Mondeo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] , Skoda Superb ?koda Superb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia etc.

    These will almost always be diesel as fuel is expensive here but split between manual or automatic transmission depending on driver preference. I previously had a Peugeot 406 [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_406]Peugeot 406 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] which had a 2.0 diesel engine on a manual box. This would get me around 30-32 UK mpg in town traffic. Speaking to other drivers who have auto diesels, they get around 28-30 UK mpg. Remember, our towns and streets are conjested AND narrow with lots of starting and stopping.

    The Prius is a rarity as a cab over here as the UK cabbie is quite a conservative type and is worried about long term reliability. I took the gamble and haven't looked back. I get between 45 & 50 mpg compared to the 30 mpg I got on a diesel manual, so am saving big money as previously my fuel bill for a year was £7000 ($10800)!

    I work for a co-operative of about 100 drivers and they are watching me with interest. Some make fun, some don't like the look of the Prius, some think the luggage space is small, but others are taking a keen interest and I think there will be a few more Prius cabs on the streets of my town by the end of the year.

    So yes, the Prius helps a lot, due to the engine shutting off at lights etc and also, means that you can read your newspaper between jobs with the a/c on but not use any fuel or cause pollution or make a noise which the diesels did!
     
    #9 GrumpyCabbie, Apr 26, 2010
  10. halpos4

    halpos4 "Taxi"!

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    What he just said!! A lot of the oldie taxi drivers here in Ireland,Dublin in particular,are very stuck in their ways and don't like change,i suppose just how long a hybrid will last especially as a Taxi is a real unknown,so in some respects we're the guinea pigs for the future of Hybrid Taxis,as younger people enter the business,rising fuel prices....i have been asked personally by many taxi drivers just how good my Prius is....289,000km later and other than routine servicing,all i've done is replace a CV boot at a cost of €90,not bad for a working car!!
     
    #10 halpos4, Apr 26, 2010
  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    http://www.climatechangecentral.com/files/Hybrid_Taxi_Pilot_Program_Final_Report.pdf


    Here's a PDF done by the province of Alberta in Canada. It compared the Crown Vic vs. FEH vs. TCH vs. Prius. Funny how after this, there's still not a lotta hybrid taxis (To give you an idea, Alberta is oil country)

    Also remember that their engine will always been warm since the car is left "running" so they only have a warm-up period once during the day (or if the cab is shared, it'll almost never be off so there's never a warm-up period)


    How is a Peugeot more reliable than a Toyota?
     
    #11 Tideland Prius, Apr 26, 2010
  12. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    It's not how often but how much. The fear with hybrids is having an expensive repair or replacement. The devil they know
     
    #12 ItsNotAboutTheMoney, Apr 26, 2010
  13. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I guess so.
     
    #13 Tideland Prius, Apr 26, 2010
  14. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    Just want to see it keep increasing.

    In 10 years time there'll be lots of cabbies sticking with their trusty HEVs while others plump for the long-term savings of EVs. ;)
     
    #14 ItsNotAboutTheMoney, Apr 26, 2010
  15. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    And also where to take it to get it fixed! All cabbies know of a good, reliable (gets you in straight away) back street garage who does a good cheap reliable job.

    Show him a diesel Peugeot or Ford and he'll know it inside out. Show him a Prius and you'll probably return to find he's electrocuted himself :eek:

    Thus a Prius is a little more expensive to service as I have to take it to the main dealer - well until the warranty is expired.
     
    #15 GrumpyCabbie, Apr 27, 2010
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