GREEN MEANS GO
STAFFS CABBIES ENCOURAGED TO ‘GO GREEN’ WITH INITIATIVE TO INTRODUCE EV CHARGING FACILITIES
Stoke on Trent, Stafford and Newcas- tle-under-Lyme will simultaneously benefit from electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure giving taxis and private hire operators the confidence to purchase electric vehicles. Three Staffordshire councils have come together to install EV charging facilities within local authority car parks to sup- port local taxis and private hire vehicles to switch to less-polluting vehicles. The project is supported by SWARCO Smart Charging, one of the UK’s largest providers of EV charging infrastructure, and the first sites are beginning to go live. Newcastle-under-Lyme BC, Stafford BC and Stoke-on-Trent CC successfully partnered to secure funding of more than £750,000 from the Government’s Low Emission Taxi Infrastructure Scheme, which will result in thirty rapid chargers being installed across 15 car parks owned by the three authorities. The first sites, which include the car parks at King Street (Kidsgrove), Chancery Lane, and South Wolfe Street in Stoke-on-Trent, went live in April – with the remaining sites coming into operation over the course of the next few months. This new network of EV charge points will be operated by SWARCO Smart Charging, which will be supplying, installing, and maintain- ing the infrastructure. The charge points are 50kW rapid chargers with contactless payment and, while some of them will be open for public use, at least half will be reserved for taxis and private hire vehi- cles which will also benefit from reduced tariffs, with the standard pub- lic rate of £0.49 p/kwh and £0.45 p/kwh for taxis. The network and usage data will be constantly monitored and reviewed so that changes can be made in line with the growing demand from the electric taxi and private hire trade. Newcastle-under-Lyme BC’s Cabinet
JULY 2022
member for Environment and Recy- cling, Trevor Johnson, said: “We’re really pleased to be one of the first councils in Staffordshire to install shared EV charging points. “We recognise the increasing require- ment for easy-to-access facilities for EVs. It is great that taxis registered in the borough are also playing their part, helping us to lead the way to healthier and more environmentally friendly travel.” Councillor Carl Edwards, Cabinet Mem- ber for Environment and Housing at Stoke-on-Trent CC, said: “We have pre- viously not had the infrastructure available to encourage our taxi drivers to move over to electric. With the new facilities across the city, we are hoping that our licensed taxi drivers will be able to reap the benefits of driving cleaner vehicles, while being confident
they can recharge whenever they’re out and about.” Justin Meyer, Managing Director of SWARCO Smart Charging is confident that this network will encourage more taxi and private hire firms to seriously consider switching to EVs. He said: “This is a well thought out plan to pro- vide a network of charge points that connects different locations to support drivers on their regular routes and fares. We are encouraged by the response of local taxi and private hire operators that can see the impact a dedicated accessible charging infras- tructure will have on supporting their future plans.” The charging points will be installed in council car parks in central locations with space to accommodate charge points and the energy supply, and that offer 24-hour access for drivers.
OAKHAM TAXI FIRM GOES GREEN WITH RUTLAND’S FIRST ELECTRIC CAB
An Oakham taxi firm has launched the county’s first ‘green’ taxi. According to the Stamford Mer- cury, Berridge Taxis, of Oakham has been in business for more than 40 years, and has decided it’s time to give Rutland its first all-electric taxi. The Volkswagen ID4 will cover local, long-distance and airport runs. “The EV is something we have been working towards for some time, but the high cost of the initial pur- chase has been a barrier,” said company director Suzanne Bussingham. “So many customers have asked when we would be going electric, so we have decided to dip our toe in the water. “We are hoping the response from cus-
tomers will be overwhelmingly positive and the vehicle will work for us logisti- cally. The scenario here in rural Rutland is wholly different to more urban set- tings where local authorities are pressing taxi firms to go green to improve air quality.”
35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90
