SEATTLE, WA – The Seattle-Tacoma International Taxicab Association (STITA) has met the Port of Seattle’s goal of having all association cabs fueled by compressed natural gas by Aug. 31, 2006. All 166 of STITA’s sedan-type cabs now run on CNG.
Three years ago, the Port opened the first publicly-accessible CNG refueling station in the Puget Sound region. The CNG-powered fleet is expected to produce 149 fewer tons of carbon monoxide and 24 fewer tons of nitrous oxides each year than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles.
Just finding enough CNG-powered sedans to buy, at any price, was a major challenge for STITA. Ford stopped manufacturing the preferred four-door Crown Victoria, so STITA operators had to purchase their vehicles used from fleets in California.
The milestone means that an additional year will be added to STITA’s contract to provide taxi service at Sea-Tac Airport. STITA previously met an interim goal, which also added a year, meaning that the association is the exclusive provider of taxi service at Sea-Tac through Aug. 2010.
