...GREEN MEANS GO CAB BOSSES SAY NOT ENOUGH TIME GIVEN
BY MALDON COUNCIL TO MAKE ECO-FRIENDLY CHANGES
A proposal to make taxis more eco- friendly and cut pollution in Maldon town centre has gone under the microscope. According to the Daily Gazette, Mal- don District Council held a meeting to discuss prepara- tions for an Air Quality Action Plan for Market Hill and the wider district.
The discussion cen- tred around im- proving emissions from taxis by intro- ducing an age limit for hackney carriage and private hire vehicles, and in- stalling electric ve- hicle
charging
points in Maldon for taxi drivers. However, there are concerns about the issue of such a tight deadline.
Andy Ambrose, of Arrow Taxis, told the council: “We’re fully supportive of the concept – our prob- lem is that the im- plementation period you’ve given us is less than one year to change probably 50 per cent of the taxis in Maldon. “Then, within four years, we would have to buy com- pletely new vehicles
£1.5M AWARDED TO UK TECH PROJECTS TO CUT CONGESTION
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that tech to cut congestion will get a £1.5 million boost through a government fund for councils and SMEs to promote trial projects. Intelligent Transport reports that the funding forms part of the Govtech Cata- lyst, a £20m fund to help solve local transport
issues
through tech. The fund aims to help reduce the huge cost to the UK economy resulting from con- gestion by calming rush hour traffic and improving air quality and road safety for drivers. The winning tech projects include software that moni- tors traffic and flags incidents in real time, tools which predict and tackle congestion by help- ing traffic con-
again to comply with the 2025 elec- tric and hybrid vehicles section. “We would ask that the implementation period be spread a bit longer because at the moment, as identified in your officer’s report, the financial sustainabil- ity of it is quite bad. “It’s just something we could not afford to do, not even in 12 months. “We have trialled electric vehicles. We were the first opera- tors in Essex to run electric vehicles. “We’ve got two vehicles on trial at the minute. “We have a problem with all the prod- ucts up at the
moment – the range is less than what is necessary to oper- ate a taxi service sensibly. “But we do think that within the next year or so, we’ll see such advances in the technology that we will then be able to do it.” There were also concerns about emissions coming from other vehicles. Councillor Mark Heard said: “Just dealing with taxis is small beer indeed. “Taxis are just a diesel vehicle, there are thousands of diesel vehicles that are going up and down that hill – not least of all lorries and buses which I
understand are probably the main contributors any- way. “I do think this council needs to embrace these elec- tric charging points. To do this just for taxis is not quite enough.” All the points dis- cussed will be put forward in a public consultation this year. The Air Quality Action Plan will set out the measures that the council intends to take to improve air quality in the borough bet- ween 2020 and 2025. Councillors will then review the plans later on this year.
ENVIRONMENTAL PLANS SET TO BE SIGNED OFF BY NORTH TYNESIDE
trollers understand how to keep traffic moving, and the mapping of vehicle tracks to determine ‘paths,’ optimising and improving traf- fic signals in the city. The three projects will be managed by the DfT for 12 months which will then determine whether the tech should be rolled out on a per- manent basis. Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “Congestion isn’t just bad for our environment, pro- ductivity and com- munities – it also has a huge impact on our national econo-
MARCH 2020
my. That’s why, as well as our multi-bil- lion-pound invest- ment in rail and buses to improve connectivity, we are opening up city cen- tre, transport and traffic management to new digital inno- vators. “Transport technolo- gy is a growing global sector with the potential to help reduce congestion, emissions and im- prove connectivity. The competition win- ners show how world class UK transport tech companies are helping millions of people in our towns and cities every day.”
Would-be taxi dri- vers could have to scrap ageing vehi- cles as a proposed licensing shake-up is set to be given the green light. If the proposals are approved, from April 2021 no new li- cences would be granted in North Tyneside for vehi- cles more than four years old. Meanwhile, existing licences will require a vehicle to be less than eight years old for any future re- newals in 2023. Electric and zero- emission vehicles will be exempt from
these age standards. North Tyneside Council says the proposals aim to encourage environ- mental sustainability and ensure efficient taxi and private hire services in the bor- ough. Cllr Carole Burdis, cabinet member with responsibility for community safe- ty and engagement, said: “These plans support our com- mitment to main- taining a healthy environment
in
North Tyneside.” Following an eight- week consultation where almost 100
local drivers, resi- dents and busi- nesses shared their views on the revised policy, the plans were expected to be approved by cabinet on Monday 24 Feb- ruary. This comes after the council voted to join Newcastle, North- umberland, Gates- head and Sunder- land in declaring a climate emergency in July. The authority is cur- rently pressing on with its commitment to halve its carbon footprint by 2027 and to be carbon neutral by 2050.
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