Yellow Cab Chicago will add 100 new compressed natural gas (CNG) taxis, and is building an infrastructure to support them, reports the Chicago Tribune.
In the future, the cab company expects to add more CNG taxi, according to a press release.
The company, which operates the Yellow, Checker, American United and Blue Diamond bag lines, has about 3,000 taxis in service in the Chicago area.
Yellow Cab has partnered with Clean Energy to construct two CNG fueling stations. The two collaboratively applied for and received $1.5 million in grant funding from the City of Chicago and the Department of Energy for the taxis and fueling stations.
CNG-powered vehicles emit up to 30 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline-powered vehicles.
In particular, CNG-powered taxis are gaining in popularity.
Natural gas maven T. Boone Pickens promoted their use in Dallas, for instance.
More than 250 natural gas taxis are operating in New York City, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has a resource to help cities adopt natural gas taxis.
The EPA says that vehicles powered by natural gas emit 80 percent fewer ozone precursors and over 95 percent fewer particulates than conventional gasoline-powered vehicles. In addition to being cleaner, compressed natural gas is also 30 to 40 percent cheaper than gasoline or diesel on a same mileage basis.
