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Mr. Mandell spoke with Mr. Hess about the benefits of an environmentally neutral transportation service.
- “To see businesses embracing environmental issues is a wonderful thing,” said Hans Hess. “I’ve been involved in green issues since I was a kid and even though it seems like the public is accepting this all of a sudden, it’s now becoming fiscally possible to build a cab company on these principles, because the vehicles are proven and their technology allows us to emit about a 1/3 less pollution and get 42 miles per gallon as opposed to 16 miles per gallon in the standard Crown Vic cab on the road.”
- “Our first set of cabs –about 20-should be on the roads by mid January and at that rate, we should have fifty out there by March. The cabs will be white with green accents,” he added. “Drivers are attracted to enviroCab, because it’s a young company with a clear vision of its impact on the community which resonates with younger drivers. Drivers, who will own their own vehicles, will make more money with us. They’ll save $7-10,000 a year on fuel.”
- “Arlington County was thankful to enviroCab for bringing the idea of hybrids to other county cab companies. Now several of them are offering hybrids along with the regular vehicles. But we are the only 100% hybrid cab company in Arlington. We are going even further to ensure that we don’t negatively impact air quality by buying enough offset credits so that we are not only carbon neutral, but carbon negative, by buying credits for others as well. Offsetting works by using the money raised in this ‘self taxation’ model to capitalize clean source energy such as wind turbines, which in turn sell energy to public utility companies to allow them to use smaller quantities of dirty fuels.”
- When asked about his other entrepreneurial ventures, Mr. Hess described Elevation Burger in Falls Church. “We serve the best, healthiest, organic beef. It’s grass fed, which means that it’s lower in calories than corn fed beef and much better for you. And our fries are cooked in olive oil. We were told it couldn’t be done, but we’re doing it and they’re really good. We’re also carbon neutral at the restaurant. In January we will start to franchise Elevation Burger in this region.”
- “We operate in highly regulated industries, but Arlington is an example of a jurisdiction which is supportive of encouraging responsible community activities which will change behaviors and help manage energy resources wisely. The county is leading by example by handing out free compact fluorescent bulbs and using LED lights for traffic signals and supporting companies like enviroCab.”
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