The streets of New York City could soon see the standard rows of Lincoln Town Cars disappearing, as Mayor Michael Bloomberg introduced a plan that requires new black cars entering service beginning Jan. 1 to carry a fuel economy rating of at least 25 miles a gallon, New York Times reports.
According to the city, local car service vehicles produce one percent of the city's CO2 emissions, and four percent of its transportation emissions. The city says doubling the mileage of that entire fleet would cut the emissions by half.
The city plan includes a phase-in retirement period for operators with six-year-old Town Cars steadily removed from service with almost the entire fleet converted to the 30-miles-per-gallon standard after 2013. Operators who license a new 2009 Town Car before Jan. 1 will be able to operate it for a maximum of five years before it is forced to retire.
The city's yellow taxis went green in October.
