The sight of a yellow taxi spewing thick black fumes from its exhaust on the streets of Athens could soon be a thing of the past as the Transport Ministry is planning to offer cabbies incentives to swap their diesel-powered vehicles for more environmentally friendly hybrid cars.

Kathimerini understands that a committee responsible for looking at greener ways for Athenians to conduct their daily journeys is examining ways of gradually taking some 14,000 cabs that use diesel off the roads.

However, cabbies argue that for this to happen, they will have to be offered serious financial incentives.

The ministry is considering whether it can entice taxi drivers to swap their vehicles for hybrid cars, which run on gas engines and an electric motor and are considered to emit fewer emissions. A recent study found cabs and buses to be the second-highest cause of pollution in Athens.