...GREEN MEANS GO
LEEDS CITY COUNCIL ASKS TO DELAY CLEAN AIR CHARGING ZONE DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Due to the impact of the coronavirus pan- demic, Leeds City Council has asked the government for permission to delay the planned Clean Air Charging Zone until January 2021 at the earliest.
How will financial support be affected? Leeds City Council is still accepting appli- cations for, and continuing to pay, grant payments for
Leeds-licensed taxi and private hire vehicle owners who have switched to a compliant vehicle. Repayments for taxi and private hire vehicle owners who have received an interest-free CAZ loan have been sus- pended from April 1 until further notice. Cllr Andrew Carter had called for urgent changes in the charges and the licence grant for
HCs and PHVs dur- ing the current Covid-19 pandemic. Cllr Carter said: “I am calling for the deferment to Sep- tember 2021 of the clear air zone charge due to begin in September 2020 for Leeds registered vehicles and drivers and for the current requirement for a three-year licence to be reduced to 12 months. Neither ini- tiative will have any
adverse financial effect on the ser- vices provided by the council. “These proposed changes will provide a very welcome in- centive to the taxi trade. While I appre- ciate the council is considering delay- ing taxi/private hire licensing renewals we must act now and provide addi- tional support to Leeds taxi and pri- vate hire drivers.”
Cllr Billy Flynn said: “We must help the taxi trade because during this crisis, they are helping every resident in Leeds and in partic- ular vulnerable resi- dents and key work- ers.” Drivers can sign up for email updates about the Leeds Clean Air Charging Zone to be alerted when applications re-open. The Leeds taxi and
CLIMATE ACTION PLAN WILL BRING ELECTRIC TAXI CHARGING POINTS TOWARWICK DISTRICT
Warwick District Council recently voted unanimously to put its Climate Action Now pro- gramme (CAN) to a referendum on May 7. According to the Leamington Courier, councillors from every political group are now working together on their Warwick District CAN campaign to encourage voters to back their plans to make the council carbon neutral by 2025 and the dis- trict by 2030. The council wants to
encourage taxi drivers to switch to EVs and drive down CO2 emissions by installing a new net- work of EV charging points in the district. A survey of driving habits among taxi drivers within the district will be undertaken to find out where charging points are most needed. Around 50 HCs and PHVs will be tracked for 12 months by EV consultancy Electric Blue. Data such as journey patterns, CO2 emissions,
idling hotspots and resting hotspots will all be analysed to provide a feasibility report into how much money could be saved by cabbies switching to EVs, and where charging points would best be located to pro- vide maximum us- age with minimal disruption. Cllr Tony Heath, Chairman of the Licensing and Regu- latory Committee at Warwick District Council and a former taxi driver, explained drivers needed the
assurances of a reli- able charging net- work and evidence of cost savings to invest in an EV. He said: “Once the report comes out after the survey, we’ll be in a great position to advise drivers on how going electric will work for them.” But Cllr Heath warned that the delivery of the charging network depended directly on the result of May’s climate refer- endum, which aims to raise council tax
by £1 per week in a Band D household to create a ring-fenced fund to directly tack- le climate change.” News of the survey comes after council- lors from all parties in Warwick DC agreed to ask resi- dents to approve a council tax increase to fund its ambitious climate change plan in a referendum. If a yes vote is returned, the council will be able to raise £3 million per year to spend on its ambitious climate change programme
– with every penny ring-fenced. Mmmm… Two im- portant points must be highlighted from this council survey: (a) the cost to the trade of changing over to EV taxis/ PHVs must be made very clear to those considering the sur- vey results, partic- ularly in the current climate; and (b) the network of charging points for taxis/ PHVs are of no use whatever unless they are the rapid charge points for quick turnround. - Ed.
private hire office is automatically ex- tending all taxi and private hire driver, vehicle and operator licences that are due to expire before the end of June. The sit- uation will be re- viewed before the end of June and may be extended further. For more detailed information about the Leeds CAZ, please visit:
www.leeds.gov.uk/ cleanairzone.
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