[Look] New York City Approves Tesla Model 3 as First Yellow Cab Electric Vehicle

Urian B., Tech Times 06 November 2020, 08:11 pm

New York City has now been recorded as the first ever city to approve the Tesla Model 3 as an official yellow cab. Back in October of 2019, Electrek was the very first to report that the official New York Taxi and Limousine Commission or the TLC, which is responsible for overseeing the city's entire fleet of yellow cabs, has finally approved the first EV into their reign of yellow cabs, the Tesla Model 3.

The Tesla Model 3 has already qualified by New York City standards last year

The Tesla model 3 was allegedly seen as eligible to qualify as a yellow cab in New York City and just about a full year later, covered again by Electrek, it has now been made official that the very first Tesla Model 3 yellow cabs are now finally hitting the very streets of New York City. This is kickstarting the whole electrification of the most iconic fleet roaming the New York street with about 13,000 taxis.

As previously reported, Tesla vehicles are already becoming quite popular with the taxis over in Europe. This includes the different markets like the Netherlands, where there are a fleet of just about 100 Tesla vehicles already working as taxis outside of the Amsterdam airport ever since back in 2014. Over in North America, EVs haven't really been as popular as the choice for taxis but the trend is now picking up.

Tesla has also become a taxi of choice in other places around the United States

The very first Tesla Taxi driver over in North America was finally able to hit his first 100,000 miles while using the Model S. Even more taxi drivers as well as companies are looking towards using the Model 3 because of the said economical benefits, according to Electrek.

Just last year, it was also reported that the Columbus Yellow Cab has just announced its purchase of 10 Tesla Model 3 vehicles in order for them to accelerate its goal of the complete electrification of its whole fleet of about 170 taxis. It was also heard that another fleet of 40 Tesla Model 3s made its way to Madison becoming the very first all-electric taxi service ever in the United States.

Why companies and individuals are slowly shifting towards electric vehicles

Electrek has reportedly stated that more and more people are now starting to run the whole numbers and coming to the conclusion that after both the fuel and the maintenance savings, EVs can actually pay for themselves when both are used in the main applications that also gather higher mileage.

Police departments have reportedly started buying a number of Tesla Model 3 vehicles for the very same reasons. The trend might reportedly accelerate in 2021, according to the estimations given by Elektrec. With Tesla's ever increasing market share, it would not technically be a surprise if these EVs would become a choice for public transportation.