GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS - The Sallan Foundation

5. Taxis and For-hire Vehicles
Taxis and for-hire vehicles (livery cabs, limousines, and corporate fleets, or “black cars”)
are privately operated and are not under the direct control of New York City
government. However, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) does
regulate these vehicles. Because of this, TLC has the opportunity to implement
measures that may result in a decrease in CO 2 e emissions. As with City employee
commuting, emissions from taxis and for-hire vehicles are not counted toward the City
government’s total CO 2 e level, but are reported here to demonstrate their contribution to
the City’s overall carbon footprint.
Medallion taxi (yellow cabs) vehicle miles traveled (VMT) were calculated using data
obtained from The New York City Taxicab Factbook (Schaller Consulting, 2006), which
reports total cruising miles for the analysis years. 15 Using Schaller’s assumption that 40
percent of total VMT are cruising miles, total VMT for the medallion fleet were calculated
for each analysis year. The majority of New York City taxis are estimated by TLC to
achieve a fuel efficiency of 13 miles per gallon under field conditions. The model was
customized to reflect this.
For-hire vehicle VMT was calculated by multiplying the number of TLC for-hire licenses
issued in each analysis year by an average VMT per vehicle of 34,700 miles, which was
calculated using New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
inspection records for these vehicles. As the majority of the for-hire fleet vehicles are
models similar to medallion taxis, a fuel efficiency of 13 miles per gallon was assumed.
6. Municipal Vehicle Fleets
The New York City Office of Management and Budget (OMB) gathered data on fuel
consumption and cost for Fiscal Years 1995, 2001, and 2006 from each City agency
with a substantial vehicle fleet. The following New York City agencies are included in
this group: Department of Correction (DOC), Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
(DOHMH), Department of Sanitation (DSNY), Department of Transportation (DOT),
Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP), Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Department of Parks and
Recreation (DPR), Fire Department (FDNY), and the Police Department (NYPD). It
should be noted that there are numerous other City agencies that operate smaller
vehicle fleets and were not asked to report data. It was estimated by the DCAS Fleet
Administration Director that the ten agencies listed above operate the majority of the
New York City vehicle fleet and that their heavy use accounts for almost all of the total
fuel consumption. Therefore, the total vehicle emissions reported in this inventory do not
represent 100 percent of City vehicle emissions, but give a very close approximation
that is useful for the purposes of this analysis. Data on consumption and cost were selfreported
by agencies to OMB. Where significant data gaps existed, individual agencies
were surveyed to determine fuel consumption for particular fuel categories. Remaining
gaps were populated using data from other years as proxies. As only total fuel
15 The New York City Taxicab Fact Book. Schaller Consulting, 2006.
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