GREEN MEANS GO
CABBIES IN READING GIVEN AN EXTRA YEAR TO SWITCH TO LOW CO2
CABS
Taxi drivers in Reading have been given an extra year to drive their older, more polluting cabs before switching to lower emission vehicles. According to the Reading Chronicle, Reading Borough Council’s licensing committee considered plans to phase out older taxis at a meeting on 1 February. In October 2019, the council estab- lished the Hackney Carriage Vehicle Emissions and Age Policy to remove old cabs from the taxi fleet in an effort to improve air quality. Its aim is to have all hackney carriages ultra low emission vehicles (ULEV) by 2028. But the phased removal of older cabs was delayed for two years in December 2020 due to the impact of the corona- virus pandemic. At the most recent meeting, Asif Rashid, chairman of Reading Taxi Association, appealed for the delay to
be extended, which would mean 15 vehicles registered in 2011-12 could still be used until October 2024. Cllr Tony Page said he had a great deal of sympathy for taxi drivers as their business has significantly dropped due to the pandemic. Mr Rashid argued that taxi drivers using vehicles in 2011-12 should be given the opportunity for one more year, before swapping them to ULEVs. Cllr Barnett-Ward explained: “If these vehicles come off the fleet on the orig- inal schedule then the owners would be able to replace them with diesel vehi- cles. The one year delay means that they will not have that option and will have to buy low or no emission vehicles instead - so the delay actually speeds up the greening of the fleet.” It was noted that the number of taxi trips had declined by 40 per cent
DENBIGHSHIRE CC DEVELOPS EV PUBLIC CHARGING PILOT
Denbighshire is hosting the only North Wales pilot of a new zero-emission green taxi scheme. The Rhyl Journal reports that the scheme has so far provided thousands of ‘green’ miles for drivers and passengers since starting last Autumn. The initiative is funded by the Welsh Government, which has set a goal of de-carbonising the entire fleet by 2028. Denbighshire County Council is one of the few local authori- ties taking part in the pilot scheme. Twenty-eight taxi drivers have stepped behind the wheel of four wheelchair-accessible Nissan Dynamo E-NV200 taxis to use as part of the “try before you buy scheme” which began last September. The pilot allows licensed hackney drivers to try the vehicle free of charge for 30 days, including free electric charging, vehicle licensing, breakdown cover and insurance. Over a 16-week period from launch until 20 January, the vehi- cles covered 15,501 zero-emission miles across the county. Following feedback from the participating drivers, the council is looking into extending the scheme using a vehicle capable of delivering 300-plus miles on a single charge. Denbighshire taxi operators are being encouraged to take part in the pilot, information can be found here:
www.denbighshire.gov.uk/electric-taxi
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compared to pre-pandemic levels. Cllr Page lamented the lack of govern- ment grant funding to help taxi drivers in Reading upgrade their cabs, funding that has been made available in London and Manchester. He said: “At the moment, the trade is expected to upgrade their vehicles entirely on their own.” Ultimately, the committee decided to pause the policy for another year until October 2023, with the most polluting vehicles being taken off the road in October this year. That means six cabs will have to be taken off the road by October this year. The committee also resolved to meet to conduct a review of the policy in September, and write to the Govern- ment to make more grant funding available so that taxi drivers can speed up the upgrade of their cabs.
SHEFFIELD COUNCIL LAUNCHES NEW ELECTRIC TAXI SCHEME
Sheffield City Council has launched a new scheme enabling local taxi drivers to try out an electric taxi. ShefNews reports that the scheme aims to provide drivers with a practical experience of an electric taxi with eight “black cab” style LEVCs available for two weeks. Cllr Terry Fox, Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “There are big benefits to our drivers in switching to electric: reduced maintenance costs and refuelling is cheaper. The scheme is now open for drivers licensed with the council – the trial requires a deposit and £50 fee for each driver. During the trial, drivers will receive £50 free charging at the council’s ten taxi-only rapid charging points which recharge the taxis to 80% battery capacity in 45 minutes. All of the electric taxis are also fully wheelchair accessible. The scheme is funded via the government’s Early Measures Fund for reducing air pollution and was approved by Sheffield’s Cabinet in November 2020. The council has uploaded a video introducing the scheme on its YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/Ie2vr8lPQc4 The scheme is open now for drivers licensed with Sheffield City Council, who can register their interest via:
sherbetsheffield.com
MARCH 2022
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