FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

August 16, 2007                                                                                   

Contacts:

Jennifer Strohm, 301.926.9737 or  jstrohm@vepublicrelations.com 
George Evanko, 703.848.1655 or gecommunications@verizon.net 

Arlington County Manager Increases Number of enviroCABs
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Arlington County Manager Gives Green Light to enviroCAB To Become
The Country’s First Fleet of Carbon-Negative Taxis with Permits for 50 Taxis

(Arlington, VA) -- enviroCAB, www.envirotaxicab.com, a proposed new taxicab service in Arlington, Virginia, announced today that it has received a recommendation from Arlington County Manager Ron Carlee to operate an all hybrid fleet of 50 taxicabs within the County.  If given final approval by the County Board this fall, the eco-friendly cab service provider would become the first carbon-negative taxicab company in the world.

In a formal report to the Arlington County Board on August 15, County Manager Carlee recommended that 86 new taxi certificates be issued to six companies.  As part of the report it was recommended that enviroCAB receive 50 licenses to operate hybrid cabs, either Toyota Priuses or Ford Escapes. This is an increase of 15 certificates over the initial 35 certificates recommended for enviroCAB by the Arlington County Transportation Commission in July.

“This is a huge endorsement of our plan,” said Hans Hess, enviroCAB partner. “The County has long been a leader in cleaning up our air, and enviroCAB will show that same quality of leadership in how we do business.  Pending the Board’s final approval, we will effectively emit zero carbon dioxide, and we’ll also remove the emissions of two additional existing cabs for every cab we put on the street through our carbon-negative offset plan.”

The Arlington County Board is scheduled to make the final decision on issuing taxicab permits in September.

If approved, enviroCAB would be the first new cab company in Arlington County since 1984 and:

• the first taxicab company within the Washington, D.C., region to put a fleet comprised entirely of fuel-efficient, low-emission hybrid vehicles on the roads. 
• the first taxicab company in the U.S. to completely offset its own emissions by purchasing “clean-source” offset credits.
• the world’s first carbon-negative taxicab service by additionally offsetting the estimated emissions of as many as 100 of the existing 655 taxis in Arlington.

Inspired by Arlington County’s Fresh AIRE initiative, enviroCAB is a business located in Arlington County that is dedicated to operating an environmentally sustainable transportation company, and to bringing a “green” taxi alternative to the citizens of Arlington County.  enviroCAB will serve the taxi needs of Arlington County with a fleet of owner-operated carbon-negative vehicles that helps improve the health, welfare and safety of Arlington County citizens and taxicab drivers. For more information, contact Jennifer Strohm at 240.731.7381 or George Evanko at 703.848.1655. 

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