Dunedin has a new taxi company, with the latest addition boasting green credentials.
Wellington-based Green Cabs, which began in the city late last week with three cars and nine drivers, hopes to expand its operations.
Green Cabs already has cars in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown.
General manager Toni Hogg said the company started in 2007 after seeing a gap in the market for environmentally friendly transport options.
Apart from using only hybrid vehicles, Green Cabs has also formed partnerships with Trees for the Future and Trees for Survival to plant trees.
"We do a lot of tree-planting to offset any emissions over and above what is created from operations of vehicles and office,'' Ms Hogg said.
She said the company "definitely'' wanted to grow in Dunedin.
"We've got 30 [cars] in Queenstown, so the Dunedin market is a little bit bigger and has room for players that are willing to come in and provide the right price and service to the people.''
Calls and bookings across New Zealand ran through Wellington, she said, although there would be support staff in Dunedin in future, depending on growth.
Possible numbers employed in Dunedin were market dependent, Ms Hogg said.
"We don't try to lay down numbers because we know how agile you have to be to be in the transport industry.''
Getting a tender at the Dunedin Airport to pick up casual rather than pre-booked passengers, as it could do now, would help growth in future, she said.
