Share taxi vehicles that follow a rough service route, but can go slightly out of their way to pick up and drop off passengers. In many US cities (e.g. Pittsburgh and Detroit), the term "jitney" refers to an unlicensed taxi cab. The name comes from an archaic, colloquial term for a five-cent piece in the US (the nickel). The common fare for the service when it first came into use was five cents, so the "five-cent cab" or "jitney cab" came to be known for the price charged. In Rhode Island a jitney license plate is used for all public passenger buses,
Hybrid taxi March 2008. The city of Boston launched the CleanAir Cabs program in April 2007. The program promotes replacing older fuel-inefficient cabs with hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles as the existing fleet ages out. The main benefit of the CleanAir Cabs program for cab drivers is the operating savings, as hybrid taxi cabs can get up to three times as many miles per gallon of fuel as the old Crown Victoria cabs. In addition, hybrid taxi drivers get two "front of the line" passes per shift at Logan Airport, allowing them to make two extra trips daily. Hybrid taxi owners who