Hybrid Taxis May Come to Cambridge

R. Seth Riney, a local entrepreneur and Yale graduate, made a resolution on New Year’s Day of 2003 to question the way America looks at public transportation.

A year and a half later, that resolution has become PlanetTran, a taxi company comprised solely of environmentally friendly hybrid cars.

The City of Cambridge is now all that stands between Riney and the realization of his vision.

PlanetTran has been running an airport livery service with its fleet of Toyota Priuses for some months, but is permitted to take passengers by appointment only.

Riney would like to see the company serve a greater public good and operate as a general taxicab service.

“I want PlanetTran to compete on a level playing field with normal Cambridge taxis. [Hybrid taxis] are highly desirable to the community,” said Riney.

Currently, however, the company lacks the proper medallions from the Cambridge License Board to operate as standard taxicabs and the application process has thus far taken longer than expected.

Richard Scali, executive officer of the Cambridge License Board, did not return several calls asking for comment.

Riney nevertheless maintains that, given just the five medallions he seeks, PlanetTrain taxis will become a well-sought-after alternative to traditional cabs for the Harvard community.

Several community members, including the Harvard Center for the Environment and a number of professors and students, have supported PlanetTran in its fight for recognition.

“I think there’s definitely a need for a taxi company like PlanetTran,” said Kerry M. Houlihan ’05. “People who want environmentally friendly options don’t have them.”

Choice is precisely what Riney is after. Riney looks at hybrid cars as a more sustainable method of urban public transportation.

“My goal is not to take over the cab industry in Cambridge,” Riney said. “My goal is to prove that hybrid cars are a viable option.”

According to Riney, hybrid vehicles operate most efficiently in city driving environments.

The hybrid vehicles use the mechanical energy produced by the cars gas engine to charge a battery.

The car then runs off of electric power when idling.

That factors out to about 60 miles per gallon for city driving, while a traditional Ford Crown Victoria only gets about 18 miles per gallon.

The result of increased fuel efficiency, Riney says, is a huge economic incentive for taxi companies to operate hybrid cabs.

On Tuesday Riney will take his argument before the Cambridge License Board in a public hearing. He will also present a petition signed on PlanetTran’s website by various supporters and members of the community.

Riney hopes the hearing will be the last major hurdle in making PlanetTran fully operational.

“I wouldn’t describe the process with the license board as troubling—just rigorous,” Riney said. “the more people that sign the petition, the easier the process will be.”

If PlanetTran is successful in Tuesday’s hearing, Riney is optimistic for the future.

“I hope to have a fleet of taxis to serve the Harvard community in the fall,” Riney said.

—Staff writer Adam C. Estes can be reached at estes@fas.harvard.edu.