CAPITAL NEWS EXTRA £24M FOR GREENER BLACK CABS PLEDGED


London Mayor Sadiq Khan has committed an additional £24m for black cab drivers to switch to electric vehicles (EVs). Energy Live News reports that under the plans, around 1,000 drivers could benefit from up to £10,000 by trading in their older pollut- ing vehicles. The additional fund- ing, more than double the existing £18 million fund, is part of the mayor’s draft budget


for 2019/20 and could


help reduce nitro- gen oxide emissions by as much as 20%. The grants will be available on a first- come,


first-served


basis. The funding boost comes as TfL laun- ched a ten-week public consultation on changing the age limits of black cabs to speed up the pro- cess of the dirtiest vehicles being re- placed with zero emission cabs. That includes not allowing taxis to be licensed beyond 15


years, a phased reduction on the age limit for the most polluting taxis to 12 years by 2022 and removing the automatic age limit exemptions for al- ternative fuel con- versions, historic vehicles or personal circumstances. Around £5m is also being set aside to support the conver- sion of Euro 5 taxis (which emit high levels of NOx and would not be affect- ed by the age limit proposals in the


short term) to LPG. Independent testing shows an average TX4 taxi emits more than 70% less NOx after being convert- ed to run on LPG and they could save around £200 a month in fuel costs. Alex Williams, TfL’s Director of City Planning, said: “Lon- don’s taxi drivers are already making a major contribution to cleaning up the air by using electric black cabs. This package of mea- sures will incentivise


more drivers to buy the new clean taxis and speed up the rate the vehicles that emit the most harmful pollutants are being taken off the road.” The Mayor of Lon- don, Sadiq Khan, said: “Working with cabbies to reduce the number of pollut- ing taxis is a key part of our plans to improve London’s air quality.


I’ve been


delighted by the number of cabbies who have applied for our grants so far –


doing their bit to improve our dirty air.” Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said: “I’m pleased the Mayor has


rec-


ognised the need to support


trade in its efforts to reduce


the taxi emissions


and accelerate the growth of a zero emission


capable


taxi fleet. Providing an additional £24m funding will provide a leg-up to those who want to adopt this new technology.”


CONGESTION CHARGE AND ULEZ: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?


As with so very many new developments within this industry over the past few weeks, a degree of confusion prevails over who is going to have to do what – or in the case of the capital, who is going to have to pay what. PHTM asked officers at Transport for London for a bit of direction and trans- lation as to what all these charges mean:-


CONGESTION CHARGE


“The Congestion Charge is an £11.50 daily charge for driving a vehicle within the charg- ing zone between 7am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. This isn’t based on the vehicle’s com- pliance with T-Charge standards or the ULEZ standards, which starts on April 8th.”


ULTRA LOW EMISSION ZONE


“The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is due to replace the current T-Charge from April 8th. This is to help improve air quality in central London and covers the same area as the Congestion Charge. Most vehicles including cars and vans will need to meet new, tighter exhaust emission standards (ULEZ standards) or pay a daily £12.50 charge to travel within the area 24/7.”


“This includes all PHV drivers whose vehi- cles don’t meet the ULEZ standards and are driving within the zone. It’s based on the emissions standards of the vehicle; who pro- vides the licence isn’t relevant to this. So anyone driving within the zone whose vehi-


22


https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra- low-emission-zone/ways-to-meet-the- standard?intcmp=54334


“The main thing is that they are two sepa- rate schemes. The Congestion Charge is about reducing congestion and has been in existence since 2003. T-Charge/ULEZ is about improving air quality and is coming in from April this year.


“It is worth looking at the standards though. In terms of petrol vehicles, cars up to 14 years old can be bought that meet the stan- dard, which might be of use to PHV drivers if they have cars that don’t meet the stan- dards currently.”


TAXIS AND PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES


Taxis are exempt from paying the Conges- tion Charge when actively licensed with London Taxi and Private Hire (TPH). A vehi- cle will be removed from the register of exempt vehicles on the surrender, expiry or revocation of the licence.


cle doesn’t meet the standard will be charged.


“Any vehicle that is fully accessible and/or meets the standards is exempt from paying the ULEZ.


“More details on the ULEZ standards that vehicles need to meet can be found here:


The Mayor has announced that from 8 April 2019, private hire vehicles will no longer be exempt from the Congestion Charge. This means that PHV drivers and operators will need to pay the Congestion Charge if they travel within the Zone dur- ing charging hours.


However, PHVs designated as wheelchair accessible vehicles will retain an exemption to the Congestion Charge as long as they are fulfilling a private hire booking. They must also be actively licensed with London Taxi and Private Hire (TPH).


Some PHVs may be eligible for one of the Congestion Charge discounts, such as the Ultra Low Emission Discount (ULED) - Cleaner Vehicle Discount.


This is where we would refer you to the TfL website, where they provide a breakdown of all the charges, possible discounts, and other parameters we don’t have space to include here.


Bottom line is: PHVs working in central London are now going to have to pay £24 per day for the privilege - if they’re working day shifts, don’t have a ULEZ-compliant or WAV vehicle and enter the Congestion Zone during the charging hours. That’s what all the fuss is about; that is why there have been protests, demonstrations and meetings galore. To what avail? Watch this space. Proportionality? See above.


MARCH 2019


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