Designed by the Guadalajara firm Advanced Power Vehicles, the vehicle is equipped with a 10-horsepower electric motor that can drive the carriage at speeds of up to 25 kilometers per hour. The battery is good for 45 kilometers carrying six passengers, a driver and a copilot.
The horseless carriage will also have the usual vehicle lights, using LEDs, and passengers will be able to plug into four USB charging jacks.
Guadalajara’s 55 existing carriages are pulled by 110 horses, all belonging to the carriage owners themselves. The municipal government reached an agreement with them, and none of the animals will be sold.
Instead, they will have the option of keeping them or donating them to animal shelters or interested individuals.
The municipal animal protection office will monitor the condition of the 110 draught animals once they are retired.
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THIS IS THE FUTURE. NYC carriage horse stables are in the Hell's Kitchen area, between W. 37th St. and W. 52nd St and from 10th Avenue to the Hudson River. It has been undergoing extensive redevelopment - both residential and commercial. The four stables are worth at least $15,000,000 each. At some point, we believe some of the owners will sell, leaving in question their worthless medallions, horses without a home and drivers without a job. This is a golden opportunity for them to embrace the future. But will they?
Since January, drivers have lost 25 days of work when the industry was suspended, mostly due to weather restrictions. Horse-less carriages would not have to abide by these kinds of regulations. Because these are not "good union jobs" as the NY Daily News would have you believe, the drivers do not get paid when they do not work.
