A driving force in eco-friendly taxis

Greentomatocars uses a fleet of hybrid Toyota Prius vehicles for silent electric travel in urban conditions and ultra-low emissions. The cars exceed EURO IV emissions standards, with hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions coming in at 80 and 87.5 per cent lower, respectively, than required. They are capable of more than one hundred miles per gallon with a battery range of more than forty miles.

Carbon credits
The firm also offsets its carbon emissions by buying twice the amount of ‘carbon credits’ from Climate Care than its vehicles emit. Through its support of Climate Care, greentomatocars sponsors a variety of forestation and energy-saving projects, which include restoring the rainforest canopy in Uganda and replacing fossil fuels with renewable fuels in village schools in India.

Flourished
Greentomatocars began life in 2006, when the firm took its first passenger from Fulham to Chelsea. That day it carried eleven fares in its fleet of four cars, barely making it out of West London.

Two years later, the company has flourished. With a fleet of eighty vehicles, it now makes around 2,500 journeys every week. It has also taken its green taxi message overseas and has opened a branch in Australia, where its has fifteen cars currently operating in and around Sydney.

Media attention
The firm’s socially and environmentally responsible manifesto has attracted considerable media attention, and was recently featured as part of CNN’s Green Week as an example of a business idea that ‘changes the world for the benefit of the planet’.

Greentomatocars’ director Jonny Goldstone said: “When we launched in 2006, ‘green’ was still a long way from the top of the public agenda. We looked at all the vehicles options and the Prius was a clear winner. The key was to find the cleanest car that was viable as a taxi in London, so we had to consider issues such as space, TfL's (Transport for London, MiM) licensing criteria, urban consumption, and availability. At the time, there were also questions over the sustainability of bio-fuels. And, in terms of building our brand, the distinctive shape of the Prius was an added bonus.”

Competition
The success of greentomatocars has inevitably attracted competition. There are now another two ‘green’ taxi firms in London: Ecoigo and Climate Cars, both also using Priuses.