Full citation and abstract? H. Oliver Gao and Vincent Kitirattragarn, “Taxi owners’ buying preferences of hybrid-electric vehicles and their implications for emissions in New York City” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 42 (October 2008): 1064-1073. doi:10.1016/j.tra.2008.03.002
Based on surveys of individual owner-operators and fleet operators of taxi cabs in New York City, mathematical analysis was conducted to determine the likely extent of Hybrid-electric vehicles as taxi cabs within five years. Using these percentages, the environmental impact was then calculated due to the implementation of HEV taxis. All data was collected and analyzed with the assumption of no governmental interference in an effort to decide if governmental interference is necessary. The researchers decided that a 9.35% infiltration of HEVs would be seen which does reduce greenhouse gases, however it will not affect it much. Therefore, the conclusion is that even though reductions will occur, it will take governmental interference in order to make a significant difference.
Where do the authors work, and what are their areas of expertise? Note any other publications by the authors with relevance to the 6Cities project. H. Oliver Gao is an associate professor in Cornell’s Civil and Environmental Engineering department. His areas of expertise include transportation systems and air quality and climate change. He is also on the editorial board for Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment which is part of the journal series this article was written for.
Wang, Xun, Oliver Gao. 2011. "Travelers' exposure to fine particle mass (PM2.5) and number concentrations in urban transportation environments in New York City." Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment16 (5): 384-391.
Kamarianakis, Y., Oliver Gao, B. Holmén, D. Sonntag. 2011."Robust modeling and forecasting of diesel particle number emissions rates." Transportation Research Part D: Transport and the Environment16(6): 435-443.
Vincent Kitirattragarn used to work in the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, Bureau of Quality Assurance/DMSS in New York City. He is now the CEO of Dang Foods, which produces coconut chips as a healthy snack and is sold in stores nationwide.
What are the main findings or arguments presented in the article or report? 1. Without government intervention, approximately 9.35% of the total New York City taxi fleet will be HEVs.
2. Younger, less experienced taxi drivers with higher income are more likely to invest in a HEV
3. Individual owner-operators are more likely to invest in a HEV sooner than fleet operators (34% vs 9.35%)
4. To achieve NYC’s long term environmental goals, taxi fleets will have to double the efficiency of their vehicles so alternative technologies still need to be explored
Describe at least three ways that the argument is supported. 1. Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and nitrogen oxide emissions will decrease by 1.45%, 1.12%, and 1.70% respectively
2. Particulate matter may increase by .03%
3. Based solely on individual owner’s survey a decrease in Carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide of 12.7%, 8.3%, 4.0% and 15.65% can be expected.
4. Based solely on individual owner’s survey an increase of 6.0% for particulate matter may be seen due to SUV hybrids.
5. Vehicle cost and cost of vehicle maintenance were the top two important factors for purchasing a taxi cab.
What three (or more) quotes capture the message of the article or report? 1. “the entire NYC taxi fleet will have to undergo a conversion not limited to only HEVs, but also a portfolio of alternative-fuel vehicle options including compressed natural gas, biofuels (e.g., ethanol blend), and hydrogen (in the long term)”
2. “Associated with the future fleet turnover is an estimated decrease in all the emissions under study, with the exception of particulate matter.” 3. “Government intervention (e.g., mandates or incentive programs) is necessary to further improve the environmental effects of the NYC taxi fleet.”
4. “It would be safe to say that the range of percentage of future HEV owner-operators has a lower limit of 26.0% and an upper limit of 42.0%.”
What were the methods, tools and/or data used to produce the claims or arguments made in the article or report? 1. Individual owner survey with certain factors to determine if these factors, age, income, and/or experience in taxi industry influenced the driver’s decisions regarding HEVs as well as probability of HEVs being used
2. Fleet survey with questions regarding fleet size, type, average lifetime, and important factors to determine possible penetration of HEVs into fleets
3. Surveys with important factors for buying a taxi vehicle (cost, maintenance, gas, space, power, environmental impact)
4. Emission estimates based on current models (2008) to determine the impact the deduced
How (if at all) are health disparities or other equity issues addressed in the article or report? The fact that many cab drivers are immigrants and English is not their first language was addressed in the report briefly, as a hurdle the researchers had to overcome but not focused on in the article. Income was one of the factors the researchers were examining and it was mentioned in passing that those with higher income were more likely to buy a HEV which was explained by the high initial cost of HEVs. Health disparities were rarely touched upon instead focusing on the air quality in terms of NYC’s long term environmental goals.
Where has this article or report been referenced or discussed? (In some journals, you can see this in a sidebar.) The data has only been collected since 2010 for this particular journal on the database, however other articles from later editions of this journal have over 200 citations. This article was cited in “Plug-In Vehicle Acceptance and probably Utilization Behaviour” which was in Journal of Transportation Technologies (Plug-In Vehicle Acceptance)
Can you learn anything from the article or report’s bibliography that tells us something about how the article or report was produced? About half of the sources were for the mathematical models used in this article including one for “censored and truncated data” which suggests they may not have gathered the expected, or the desired quantities of data for this article. A large portion was also from the “NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission” from 2006 to 2007. Most of the data directly relating to taxis in NYC was from either 2006 or 2007 while the mathematical analysis sources dated as far back as 1995. A wide variety of media was used, from news articles to interviews to commission reports to scientific journals.
What three points, details or references from the text did you follow up on to advance your understanding of how air pollution science has been produced and used in governance and education in different settings? 1. Governance that is out there or is trying to be implemented: In 2013, former mayor Bloomberg called for a one-third electric taxi fleet by 2020
2. Ideas to reduce air pollution by taxi fleet: Convince riders to share a taxi, suggestions that taxi fleets could be reduced by 40% if riders would share more often (Taxi Fleet Reduction)
3. Hybrid Taxis today: Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade argued that only federal government can impose fuel efficiency standards and hybrids aren’t safe so now the “taxi of tomorrow” is not a hybrid (Hybrid Taxi)
H. Oliver Gao and Vincent Kitirattragarn, “Taxi owners’ buying preferences of hybrid-electric vehicles and their implications for emissions in New York City” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 42 (October 2008): 1064-1073. doi:10.1016/j.tra.2008.03.002
Based on surveys of individual owner-operators and fleet operators of taxi cabs in New York City, mathematical analysis was conducted to determine the likely extent of Hybrid-electric vehicles as taxi cabs within five years. Using these percentages, the environmental impact was then calculated due to the implementation of HEV taxis. All data was collected and analyzed with the assumption of no governmental interference in an effort to decide if governmental interference is necessary. The researchers decided that a 9.35% infiltration of HEVs would be seen which does reduce greenhouse gases, however it will not affect it much. Therefore, the conclusion is that even though reductions will occur, it will take governmental interference in order to make a significant difference.
H. Oliver Gao is an associate professor in Cornell’s Civil and Environmental Engineering department. His areas of expertise include transportation systems and air quality and climate change. He is also on the editorial board for Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment which is part of the journal series this article was written for.
Wang, Xun, Oliver Gao. 2011. "Travelers' exposure to fine particle mass (PM2.5) and number concentrations in urban transportation environments in New York City." Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment16 (5): 384-391.
Kamarianakis, Y., Oliver Gao, B. Holmén, D. Sonntag. 2011."Robust modeling and forecasting of diesel particle number emissions rates." Transportation Research Part D: Transport and the Environment16(6): 435-443.
Vincent Kitirattragarn used to work in the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, Bureau of Quality Assurance/DMSS in New York City. He is now the CEO of Dang Foods, which produces coconut chips as a healthy snack and is sold in stores nationwide.
1. Without government intervention, approximately 9.35% of the total New York City taxi fleet will be HEVs.
2. Younger, less experienced taxi drivers with higher income are more likely to invest in a HEV
3. Individual owner-operators are more likely to invest in a HEV sooner than fleet operators (34% vs 9.35%)
4. To achieve NYC’s long term environmental goals, taxi fleets will have to double the efficiency of their vehicles so alternative technologies still need to be explored
1. Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and nitrogen oxide emissions will decrease by 1.45%, 1.12%, and 1.70% respectively
2. Particulate matter may increase by .03%
3. Based solely on individual owner’s survey a decrease in Carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide of 12.7%, 8.3%, 4.0% and 15.65% can be expected.
4. Based solely on individual owner’s survey an increase of 6.0% for particulate matter may be seen due to SUV hybrids.
5. Vehicle cost and cost of vehicle maintenance were the top two important factors for purchasing a taxi cab.
1. “the entire NYC taxi fleet will have to undergo a conversion not limited to only HEVs, but also a portfolio of alternative-fuel vehicle options including compressed natural gas, biofuels (e.g., ethanol blend), and hydrogen (in the long term)”
2. “Associated with the future fleet turnover is an estimated decrease in all the emissions under study, with the exception of particulate matter.” 3. “Government intervention (e.g., mandates or incentive programs) is necessary to further improve the environmental effects of the NYC taxi fleet.”
4. “It would be safe to say that the range of percentage of future HEV owner-operators has a lower limit of 26.0% and an upper limit of 42.0%.”
1. Individual owner survey with certain factors to determine if these factors, age, income, and/or experience in taxi industry influenced the driver’s decisions regarding HEVs as well as probability of HEVs being used
2. Fleet survey with questions regarding fleet size, type, average lifetime, and important factors to determine possible penetration of HEVs into fleets
3. Surveys with important factors for buying a taxi vehicle (cost, maintenance, gas, space, power, environmental impact)
4. Emission estimates based on current models (2008) to determine the impact the deduced
The fact that many cab drivers are immigrants and English is not their first language was addressed in the report briefly, as a hurdle the researchers had to overcome but not focused on in the article. Income was one of the factors the researchers were examining and it was mentioned in passing that those with higher income were more likely to buy a HEV which was explained by the high initial cost of HEVs. Health disparities were rarely touched upon instead focusing on the air quality in terms of NYC’s long term environmental goals.
The data has only been collected since 2010 for this particular journal on the database, however other articles from later editions of this journal have over 200 citations. This article was cited in “Plug-In Vehicle Acceptance and probably Utilization Behaviour” which was in Journal of Transportation Technologies (Plug-In Vehicle Acceptance)
About half of the sources were for the mathematical models used in this article including one for “censored and truncated data” which suggests they may not have gathered the expected, or the desired quantities of data for this article. A large portion was also from the “NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission” from 2006 to 2007. Most of the data directly relating to taxis in NYC was from either 2006 or 2007 while the mathematical analysis sources dated as far back as 1995. A wide variety of media was used, from news articles to interviews to commission reports to scientific journals.
1. Governance that is out there or is trying to be implemented: In 2013, former mayor Bloomberg called for a one-third electric taxi fleet by 2020
2. Ideas to reduce air pollution by taxi fleet: Convince riders to share a taxi, suggestions that taxi fleets could be reduced by 40% if riders would share more often (Taxi Fleet Reduction)
3. Hybrid Taxis today: Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade argued that only federal government can impose fuel efficiency standards and hybrids aren’t safe so now the “taxi of tomorrow” is not a hybrid (Hybrid Taxi)