GREEN MEANS GO
ONE-PERSON EDINBURGH TAXIS GET GO-AHEAD AFTER AIRPORT TRIP STUDY
Plans to allow the two- seater Smart Car to be used as a private hire vehicle in Edinburgh have been approved by councillors, the first move of its kind in Scotland. The tiny 0.8-litre engine vehicles will cater for just one pas- senger, who will sit next to the driver with limited luggage only. Edinburgh City Private Hire put forward the application after a study found its drivers made 55 per cent of journeys from the air- port to the city centre with a single passen- ger on board. Both the firm and councillors pointed to the vehicle’s low emis- sion status as a key attraction, and that its size would help to aid congestion. Private hire firms in Oxford and Notting- ham already operate the Smart Car marque. Director Kevin Wood-
emits less than 90 grammes of CO2 per kilometre. At around £10,000- £11,000 they are also considerably cheaper than the saloons often used in the private hire trade. While approving the bid, council officials did make one recom- mendation -
The tiny 0.8-litre engine vehicles cost between £10,000 and £11,000
burn told the Edin- burgh Evening News: “We’d like to thank the city council for being the first local authority in Scotland to have the foresight to license the Smart Car as a private hire vehicle for single passenger transport. This is an innovative approach to cutting emissions and con- gestion and it’s a significant step for- ward for our industry.
“The eco-friendly cre- dentials of the Smart Car are really what this is about, the fact that it attracts no road tax, and the fact that due to the size of these vehicles they will help to stop congestion on the roads.” Despite having the smallest engine on the road, the vehicle has the same power-to- weight
ratio as a hackney cab, and LONDON FIRM GOES greentomatocars
ZERO EMISSIONS IN 2012 is
to let
passengers know of the size of the vehicle in advance. Mr Woodburn added that after the initial interest in the unusual choice, passengers would appreciate its eco-friendly status. City centre councillor Joanna Mowat, also a member of the regula- tory committee that approved the applica- tion, said: “This is a very positive move and will hopefully go some way to cutting down on congestion in the city centre and improving the environ- ment.”
electrifying its leading green fleet with two state of the art 100 per cent electric Renault Fluence Z.E. cars. Complementing their existing fleet of more than 200 hybrid and bio-fuelled vehicles, the two electric vehicles (EVs) will make green- tomatocars the first private hire company to offer a fully electric solution to its clients. greentomatocars’ introduction of the pri- vate hire industry’s first zero emission vehicles onto London’s streets comes as a boost to the capital as it strug- gles to meet air quality targets, currently rank- ing as one of the worst polluted cities
in
Europe. Co-Founder and Man- aging Director, Jonny Goldstone,
said,
“We’re delighted to be taking delivery of the industry’s first two EVs and already know that
our clients will be as impressed by their performance and cre- dentials as we are. In 2011, greentomato- cars became the first company to offer envi- ronmentally friendly alternatives to execu- tive cars and people carriers, by adding biodiesel-fuelled vehi- cles to our blend of cars. So it’s especially pleasing to kick off 2012 with another first by offering our excel- lent EV service to our most forward-thinking clients”. Andy Heiron, Head of Electric Vehicle Pro- gramme, Renault UK commented, “We are delighted to have teamed up with green- tomatocars who have consistently provided innovative solutions in London’s private hire market. We look for- ward to working closely with them and helping to reduce air pollution in London.”
PHOENIX TAXIS IN BLYTH SET TO SWITCH OVER TO ELECTRIC
A taxi firm in Northum- berland aims to have most of its fleet of more than 100 cars running on electricity and hopes to install three public charging points. Phoenix Taxis, based in Blyth, is looking at upgrading most of its cars over the next five years to electric vehi- cles and is currently testing
the new
upgraded Toyota Prius to assess its suitability. The new version, which will be released this year, has an extended all-electric capability on top of its hybrid feature. Phoenix hopes to get a taxi licence agree- ment with Northum- berland County Coun- cil as soon as possible
PAGE 60
so it can then put in an order for the new vehi- cles. To go with the new cars, the firm has also put in an application for funding to install three electric charging points at its new head- quarters, which will also be available for the public to use. The application to Government-funded Charge Your Car (North Ltd) went in last month and the taxi firm will hear soon. The move is the latest in Phoenix Taxis’ green agenda and fol- lows around five years of building a fleet that predominantly runs on LPG. The company had put in an application with
the council last year to run electric Nissan Leafs as taxis but the application was reject- ed as the cars were considered too small. The company is mov- ing to its new £150,000 base just outside Blyth next month, which is where the charging points would be installed as the next chapter in their green agenda. Managing director Alex Hurst told the Journal: “My dad did this before me, because there was the cost of fuel and he saw a gap in the mar- ket
in terms of
environmentally friend- ly companies. “A lot of our customers have got environmen- tal concerns, and
see if the council will license the Prius, and if so, will look to put in an order for vehicles. A spokeswoman for Charge Your Car (North Ltd) said it had received the applica- tion for charging points and,
if Picture courtesy of The Journal
Lee Stoves of Phoenix Taxis who are trialling the new Toyota Prius Hybrid
we’ve got business because we can offer them a service which lowers our carbon footprint and theirs as well. We’re pretty con- fident of getting the charging points fund- ed. Unlike Newcastle, I
don’t know of many in Northumberland, which is a shame. “We’re very excited, because the Nissan Leaf was a very nice car but the council wouldn’t do it.” The firm will wait to
they
agreed to fund them, would then commis- sion contractors to assess the location. One of the require- ments of funding is that points are avail- able for use by staff and visitors or by the general public. A Northumberland County Council spokes- woman confirmed it had knocked back an application last year because the Nissan Leaf was too small.
PHTM FEBRUARY 2012
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