Nickels wants Seattle's taxis to get 30 mpg

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels proposed today that all of the city's taxis get at least 30 miles per gallon.

Nickels wants the switch from gas guzzler to climate friendly to be complete by 2013.

Most of the city's current cabs are Ford Crown Victorias, which average about 18 miles per gallon.

City Council approval is required for the change.

"It doesn't matter if your cab is orange, yellow or gray. We think they should be green," Nickels said at a morning news conference under the Space Needle.

Making the change, Nickels said, would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 11 tons a year. He said that cities including Chicago, San Francisco and New York already have made their taxi fleets more fuel-efficient.

Representatives from the Sierra Club and hotel industry spoke in support of the changes.

The mayor also wants to raise the cap on the number of taxicab licenses the city issues, from 667 to 1,000.

Nickels said the city would work with banks to provide special lending programs for cab owners as they buy new vehicles.

Cab owners immediately criticized the mayor's proposal. Owners cannot afford to buy a new car, they said, and hybrid cars, for example, are expensive to maintain.

Driver Gurminder Kahlon, who owns his own taxi, said, "It is very difficult for a driver to buy a $25,000 car," he said. "There is a recession and Sound Transit opens next year." He was referring to the planned 2009 start of light-rail service between downtown Seattle and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Nickels said he would discuss whether the city would raise taxi meter rates to help offset the cost of new cars.

Several taxi drivers who lease their cars were supportive of Nickels' proposal, which includes adding regulations to leasing practices. The drivers hope it would reduce extra fees that some owners charge the drivers.

Nickels emphasized the importance of the cab industry as an economic foothold for immigrants. Eighty-nine percent of taxicab drivers are born outside of the U.S., the mayor said, adding he wants to ensure that owners are not taking advantage of drivers.

Bashi Hassan, a driver who leases his cab, said the mayor's proposal is a "fabulous idea for economics and the environment" and to protect drivers.

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com