Just talked to a local cab driver and he stated that Prius v save him about $20/day on gas over regular cab he owned previously.
Nice! Ask him in a year's time how it's been for maintenance. PS 1000 gallons a year saved is pretty good.
And it's safe to assume that the taxi is running 365 days a year? $7,300/year is pretty good, esp. at the "cheaper" gas prices. It's $1.499 here.
He said he bought it last month and already has over 10K km (6200mi) on it. He has mentioned that some Pirus in Vancouver have over 700K km on them (I would assume the older one) With this rate, his saving would be substantial: Assuming he works 23-days a month 23*20=460 x12 = 5520/year x10years ~ $55,200
Yeah we have a few 2004/2005s around. It didn't really take off until 2006 (you can tell by the chrome taillight housing vs. the black taillight housing). Tons of 3rd Gens and Prius v's here.
Wait till he mentions brake pads and rotors that he's not replacing. In Canberra almost all standard taxis have warped discs from the cold, hot, cold cycle and a tendency to treat the brake as one would use an on/off switch. There's not many Prius in service here, but I bet their brakes last a lot longer.
