Green cabs changes DC area

The taxicab industry with its unreasonable regulation and set in its ways is not an easy business to change.

But that didn't hinder Hans Hess, the successful owner of an environmentally conscious organic burger joint, from moving ahead with plans to open an all-hybrid taxi service in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Arlington, Virginia.

He began planning the idea in 2003, while observing that some Canadian cab companies were already making the switch to the new combination gas and electric vehicles. The economics would be a no-brainer, he recalls, particularly for cab drivers that often complain about the cost of filling their vehicles with expensive fuel.

Securing the go signal from county regulators was the difficult part. It took some time to gain an understanding of Arlington County's political climate and the procedures necessary to convince its board to take a chance on the idea.

Going with Fresh AIRE

Hess and his nephew, Cord Thomas, who sees the cab company's day-to-day operations, did broad research, met with board members and latched onto Arlington County's recent plan to go green under a 2007 program called Fresh AIRE or Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions. They then put together their proposal.

"The more pollution, the worse off the community is - it's a pretty simple argument and they bought it," says Hess, whose startup venture, Envirocab, was awarded 50 of the 86 new licenses given out in September 2007.

The company, which has successfully built a fleet primarily of Toyota Prius and Camry hybrids, is competing with larger, established taxi services. The densely populated community of more than 200,000 relies on cab service to downtown Washington and several nearby airports.

"If you're concerned about the health and welfare of a community, you shouldn't be giving permits out for cars that get 16 miles to the gallon," says Hess.