By David Hayat
“Green cabs” are scoring a hit in the capital – but green-branded taxis aren’t the only eco-friendly choice, according to industry players.
Lyn Davis and Brett Allen are owner drivers in a Green Cabs franchise and they say it’s taking off because “people want to be seen to be green”.
Green Cabs use only Toyota Prius vehicles and offset their carbon emissions through a self-funded tree planting programme, Trees for the Future.
Ms Davis and Mr Allen took the plunge into self-employment 18 months ago with a fleet of four Toyota Prius petrol-electric hybrid cars.
Initially they had three cabs in Auckland and one in Wellington. Since then they have brought the cabs to Wellington and employed three drivers.
Their operation is one of 60 Green Cab franchises in Wellington city.
Ms Davis says she decided to apply for her taxi licence after a conversation with a cabbie, who said he earned $2000 a week – more than twice the amount she was earning in a high-stress bank job.
Mr Allen left his job as a roading foreman to join the business in February and the couple haven’t looked back.
They are now considering buying two more cabs.
The couple attributes the business’s growth in to the green niche. They say: “Everybody is into sustainability and supports green cabs – government departments especially.”
“We are the preferred taxi company and people will choose us in the rank over others.”
But Wellington Combined Taxis, the city’s biggest taxi company with 442 taxis, points out it is doing the hard yards on the green front.
The company expects it will soon become the first CarboNZero taxi service in the country, says marketing manager Ani de Graaf.
“We have gone through an extensive certification [process] through Landcare Research to make sure what we claim is legit,” she says.
“We will be offsetting our emissions for all of our taxi vehicles, including their personal use as well as our office and work vehicles.”
Wellington Combined Taxis has around 40 Toyota Prius cabs and says drivers are consistently adding more to the fleet.
