KEY POINTS:
Despite knowing for some time that the world was in environmental trouble, it took a visit to the land of his birth for Green Cabs co-founder Dave Jordan to comprehend the size of the challenge.
"I understood we were in problems with the environment," he said. "But it didn't really hit me until I went back to the United Kingdom in 2006 with the All Blacks tour and saw a yellow haze over every city."
After six months his Auckland fleet stands at 32 cabs, compared with 40 in Wellington and 12 in Christchurch.
Manchester-born Mr Jordan was still driving a fuel-guzzling cab around Wellington for another firm early last year when a regular customer and former colleague, Callum Brown, proposed starting an environmentally-friendly taxi business.
Although the pair chose a fleet consisting entirely of Toyota Prius petrol-electric hybrid cars to launch the business in Wellington in November, they realised no transport operator could claim to be truly green without "off-setting" all their carbon emissions - modest as those might be.
That led to a decision to contribute to a British charity, Trees for the Future, to help villages in developing countries such as Honduras and the Philippines create arable land by planting trees to put down roots and hold water.
Mr Jordan said the company calculated emissions generated by all aspects of its business, right down to the toilet paper it used, in determining how many more trees were needed to off-set its "carbon footprint".
Corporate customers such as Telecom, insurer IAG and Auckland Regional Council received monthly statements of kilometres travelled and what Green Cabs was doing about the resulting emissions, which were up to two-thirds less than large petrol-powered taxis.
Average petrol consumption of just 4.6 litres for every 100km travelled in Auckland more than covered hire-purchase commitments for some of the vehicles, which Toyota supplied at a generous discount.
That also allowed his company to keep its tariffs 10c a kilometre lower than those of the largest taxi fleet in each city where Green Cabs operated, although customers were also given an opportunity to add $1 to each fare, towards extra tree plantings.
Mr Brown, a former Telecom business analyst and outdoor pursuits enthusiast from Otago, said Green Cabs had already donated 20,000 trees to the environment and would soon provide 10,000 more to keep well ahead of its first year's carbon debt.
Asked why it chose to support an overseas charity rather than the regeneration of New Zealand bush, he said the global nature of climate change made the location irrelevant while demanding the fastest and most cost-effective remedies.
Although some rivals privately question the success of Green Cabs, suggesting its growing visibility on city streets indicates a heavy reliance on customers hailing down its vehicles, Mr Jordan insisted it enjoyed strong support from firms keen to show a heightened sense of environmental responsibility.
* Wanganui cabs first off the rank with hybrids
Green Cabs is not the first taxi company to introduce Toyota Prius petrol-electric hybrid vehicles.
Wanganui's River City Cabs was first off the rank about 18 months ago, running a fleet of nine Toyota hybrids and one diesel vehicle.
Matakabs of Matakana claims line honours as the first taxi company to run an entirely hybrid fleet, although on a modest scale. It began business last June and has two Prius cars and two Toyota Estima hybrid vans.
Wellington Combined Taxis, with the country's second-largest vehicle fleet, runs seven hybrids and has 19 more on order. It has also decided to phase petrol-only vehicles out of its 442-strong fleet. From this weekend, it will restrict any replacements to hybrids, fuel-efficient Euro 4 diesel models, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles.
First Direct of Christchurch established a division called Eco-Cabs in March with 18 Prius cars and 4 Estima vans.
