Thursday 5 May 2011

Nissan wins £600m bid to replace NYC taxis

Nissan has won the bidding to provide New York City with a new fleet of specially designed taxis.

Christened the Taxi of Tomorrow, the Nissan NV 200 will combine new features like passenger airbags, sliding doors and mobile phone charging stations.

Announcing the news, the Mayor of New York City described it as "the safest, most comfortable and most convenient cab" the City has ever had.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said: "The new taxis will be custom-designed to meet the specific demands of carrying 600,000 passengers a day in New York City traffic and the vehicle meets the top priorities identified by the public in our on-line survey."

Environmental sustainability came top in the survey of 23,000 participants, and the Mayor's office hopes the vehicle's potential to eventually convert to fully electric power from 2017 will please taxi riders.

Deputy Mayor Goldsmith added: "Our taxi industry is a vital part of our transportation network, and this partnership will ensure that it plays a central role in an innovative, sustainable future for our City."

It is anticipated the first Taxi of Tomorrow will be introduced into service in late 2013, with current taxis phased out over a period of three to five years.