Taxi of Tomorrow

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Last May, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg mandated that each of the city's 13,500 taxi cabs be fit with hybrid engines by 2012, a significant element of his air pollution reduction effort.

Now, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has begun the distribution of a Request for Information seeking reimagined designs of the staid, yellow autos of old.

Among the objectives is to find a mass-transit shuttle that meets the highest safety standards, provides superior passenger experience and driver comfort, grants universal accessibility, leaves a smaller environmental footprint, and pulls off a sleek iconic design that will "identify the new taxi with New York City."