GREEN MEANS GO
TAXI TAX BREAK FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES HAILED A VICTORY BY ILFORD NORTH MP
Ilford North MP Wes Streeting fought for cabbies to be ex- empt from a luxury tax which sees motor owners pay a Vehicle Excise Duty charge on cars worth more than £40,000. Treasury brought for- ward the tax break by a year - to help black cab drivers make the switch from old diesel engines to zero- emission taxis - after considering views
from campaigners. According to the Ilford Reporter if just one driver makes the change, it would rid the country of seven tonnes of car- bon dioxide a year and with over 75,000 black cabs operating in Eng- land, the impact on the environment would be significant. “This is a victory for campaigners for common sense and I welcome the an- nouncement that
the supplement for luxury cars will no longer apply to the new electric capable taxi,” said MP Street- ing, who is also chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Taxis. “This is a measure that will help save cabbies who buy the new vehicle £1,550 – helping the trade do its bit in reducing air pollution. “This measure is a step in the right direction by the
government which has cross-party sup- port, and I thank Ministers for their constructive
ap-
proach.” Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, said the government is back- ing black cab drivers to go green. “This is a victory for the environment and new technolo- gies, which I am determined to sup- port as we build an
economy fit for the future,” he said. “Ensuring the air in our bustling towns and cities is free from pollution is part of our quest to become the first government to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.” London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) CEO, Chris Gubbey said he is delighted that the Treasury has brought
forward previously announced changes but a small number of drivers who al- ready own the vehicle or are expecting to take delivery in March will still have to pay an additional £310 charge. “LEVC will compen- sate these drivers to ensure they are not penalised for being the first to make the transition to a clean- er vehicle.”
NORTHAMPTON’S DIESEL TAXI DRIVERS WILL BE ‘KICKED INTO THE DIRT’ BY ELECTRIC CABS PLAN
Northampton’s taxis will be required to scrap their diesels and upgrade to elec- tric and hybrid in as little as seven years. According to the Northampton Chron- icle, the borough council strategy to cut pollution in the town has picked out Northampton’s 850 taxis and PHVs as a main contributor to emissions - but want them to be “part of the solution”. But Steve Ward, a drivers’ representa- tive for the North- ampton Private Hire Association, says hackney carriage drivers and cabbies who have just invest- ed in a car will be
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“kicked into the dirt” by the plans. The borough coun- cil’s new Northamp- ton Low Emission Strategy (NLES) reads: “Taxis operate mainly in the urban area where air pollu- tion is greatest and often leave their engines idling on taxi ranks. “We will seek to reduce access to the most polluting com- mercial vehicles whilst [promoting] an uptake of ultra- low emission ve- hicles.” It comes after a 2017 study found one in 20 deaths in Northampton are attributable to air pollutants, specifical-
ly the poisonous diesel engine by- product nitrogen dioxide (N0x). Stud- ies show pollution hotspots in North- ampton could pro- duce twice the EU legal limit for N0x annually. The Government is at risk of being sanc- tioned for its N0x emissions if it does not get them under control, which would impact local authori- ties that have not done their part to reduce pollutants. In line with a national air quality plan set out last year, the council plans to set emission standards for taxis, meaning diesel cars older than
2014 will not be given licences from December 2025 on- wards. Eventually, petrol cars and hybrids will also be phased out until only electric taxis remain in 2030. Charging points will also be built into taxi ranks across the town. Meanwhile, the Gov- ernment has an- nounced a plan to ban all new petrol and diesel cars by 2040. But Steve Ward said: “We feel the Govern- ment has been pushing drivers to buy diesel for years. Now the cabbies have invested in them, the Govern-
ment’s changed its mind.
“Electric vehicles are not the beauties they seem. Government policy turned around in a few months on diesel, who’s to say it won’t turn around again here? “A new hackney car- riage Hybrid costs £55,000. Meanwhile, when the cabbies try to sell their ‘unclean’ vehicles there will be no market for them.” The Northampton Private Hire Associa- tion is asking the council to give cab- bies a more lenient deadline to upgrade their old vehicles. The council will also consider creating a clean air zone in the
town that would fine high-emission vehi- cles.
Mmmm… There is a lot of knee-jerk reac- tion taking place around the country about this clean air campaign, and of course taxis and pri- vate hire vehicles are top of the list as tar- gets. What about White Van Man? What about rethink- ing of pedestrianised areas and one-way road systems? What about something as simple as planting more trees in urban areas? Unfortunately the Northampton trade will have to lobby big style, as they’re fighting a very strong trend… Ed.
APRIL 2018
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