NEW YORK - New York City will soon be operating five new Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicles (PHVs) on city streets as part of Toyota's partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, according to a release from the automaker.

As part of the demonstration program, two Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicles will be handed over to the NYCDOT and three to the Port Authority to be used in their fleets.

During the demonstration program, NYCDOT will capture real-world driving data to educate and promote the Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicles as sustainable transportation to the public. In early 2011, data from the U.S. demonstration programs will be posted on http://www.toyota.com/esq. This readily available data will show how the Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicles are being used and how they are performing. As the vehicles gather miles, data such as fuel economy, miles driven, charging times and additional content will be viewable online. In addition, demonstration partners will be sharing data and comparing usage and performance of the vehicles.

Toyota and New York City have partnered together on a variety of environmental initiatives. Over the past five years, the City has purchased more than 2,500 Toyota hybrid vehicles for its municipal fleet. Toyota has also delivered 10 prototype hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York for a demonstration program with the Port Authority. 

Toyota has partnered with other organizations across New York State for the Prius Plug-in Hybrid program. To date, Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicles have also been delivered to Clean Communities of Central New York, Syracuse Center of Excellence, CuseCar and Syracuse University's Department of Energy and Computing Management.

In preparation for commercial launch in 2012, more than 160 Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicles are being delivered to demonstration program partners across the U.S., as part of a global demonstration of more than 600 vehicles, according to Toyota.