12 19 May / Mei 2011 Motoring

Bespoke taxis for Big Apple Oil Prices may lower

NISSAN has won an exclusive contract to build the next
generation of yellow taxi cabs for New York City, in a 10 year deal
estimated to be worth $1-billion.
SA speed limits
The new cabs will be a big change to the existing models, with charging
stations for passengers’ mobile phones and laptops and a transparent
roof for sightseeing, as well as passenger airbags. The new taxis will
come fitted with GPS devices, too - a useful addition in a city in which
cabbies often appear flummoxed by destination requests as simple as
“Wall Street, please”. Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York,
announced the contract recently, at the end of an intense round of
bidding in which Nissan beat Ford and Karsan - a Turkish car maker.
He wanted taxis that could “expand and redefine the legendary image
of New York City cabs” he said. The Nissan Nv200 will replace the 16
models authorised by the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission,
the most common being the Ford Crown Victoria, none of which were
designed to be taxis. The commission said it hoped that people would
fall in love with the heir apparent, adding “ For the first time we’ll have a
taxi cab that isn’t off the rack but rather custom-tailored.” - The Times,
London.
SOUTH African motorists, many of whom
already feel like revenue-creating
scapegoats every time they exceed the
speed limit, might have to contend with
even lower speed limits in future - in the
interests of saving fuel, according to
government.
Energy Minister Dipuo Peters has requested
an investigation into the possibility of reducing
speed limits as one of the ways of increasing
fuel efficiency while prices escalate. “I have
instructed my team to determine the level at
which a reduction of the speed limit may be
necessary. This will include consultation and
concurrence of the Department of Transport,”
she was quoted saying in a statement from
her office.
Her spokesman Ndivhuwo Khangale said:
“Nothing concrete has been finalised,” of the
idea that evokes memories of the rationing of
the 1970s when anti-apartheid sanctions
limited fuel supplies in South Africa. Peters
said last week's increase, which saw fuel
prices hover around the R10 a litre mark, had
the potential of disrupting economic growth in
the country and could cause major disruptions
in countries that have not had the currency
strength to counter the increases. In the last
two years, crude oil prices have quadrupled
from around US$30 a barrel. “I am concerned
about the impact on the ordinary farmer and
the impact paraffin price increases have on
the poorest of the poor,” Peters said.
Three factors beyond the government's
control influence prices, she explained.
“Whilst the loss of Libya's volumes of crude oil
supply has been made up by others, the
quality of Libyan crude is of such a nature that
it cannot be easily replaced. It is easier to
process and as such its absence in the market
adds to the complexity in crude oil refinery
diets. “Secondly the speculators in the market
do take advantage of prevailing challenges
and add a premium of their own. “The third is a
more worrying reason and one that leaves us
no option but to implement fuel efficiency
measures. This is the demand for crude oil
which has just about reached levels last seen
in 2008 and is rising.”
Production facilities may find it difficult to keep
up with the demand and this will inevitably
result in sustained high prices even when the
conflicts have relaxed.
She urged people to consider whether they
really need to drive somewhere, or whether
they can walk and go to work with a lift club.
She questioned speeding away from traffic
lights and recommended not using air
conditioning during winter, as this could add
eight percent to fuel consumption. South
Africa is not the only country grappling with
fuel prices. Some of the proposals in the UK
include fuel duty stabilisers and the granting
of energy credits which can be used on
vehicles or in the home. Peters claimed that
South Africa's fuel taxes are already relatively
low and among the lowest in the G20.
IOL & Sapa

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Oop tot 7 uur

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