GREEN MEANS GO
The UK government has awarded more than £6 million to install charge points for ultra-low emis- sion taxis and PHVs across the country. Announced on 5 February at
the
Smart Transport Con- ference in London, the funding will pay for the installation of 300 rapid charge points and 46 fast charge points in 17 local authorities. According to Busi- ness Green,
the
announcement marks part of the govern- ment’s “Road to Zero” strategy, and the Future of Mobili- ty Grand Challenge which aims to usher in cleaner, greener journeys through UK engineering
and
technological inno- vation. The government es- timates around 800 ultra-low emission black cabs and 3,000 ultra-low emis- sion PHVs will bene- fit from the funding and charge points. Minister of State for Transport Jesse Nor- man MP told Power
THOUSANDS OF GREEN TAXIS TO BENEFIT FROM NEW CHARGE POINTS “The
Technology:
government wants all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040. Getting the right infrastructure and investment in place is a crucial part of this. “Today’s funding will support almost 4,000 ultra-low emission vehicles across the country. It is a further sign that the UK is making real progress in the transition to greener transport.” Automotive minister Richard Harrington added: “The UK has led the world in cut- ting emissions while maintaining growth in our economy. “These new charge points for greener taxis will help accel- erate a cleaner en- vironment for people across the UK. This will also point the way for a better, healthier future for us all as part of the government’s mod- ern Industrial Strat- egy which builds on the government’s long-standing part- nership with the UK
automotive sector.” Projects being fund- ed include Transport for Greater Manch- ester’s plan to install charge points at Manchester Airport's Taxi Feeder Park, plans to create hubs for ultra-low emis- sion taxi charging in strategic locations across Leicester, and new charging arrays in Brighton and Hove and the North East. The move follows a similar £14 million funding award last March, which sup- ported the rollout of 389 rapid and 143 fast charge points. The government is hoping its support for EVs can help stimulate investment in the automotive sector, at a time when leading car giants have warned Brexit could force them to shift produc- tion lines and in- vestment elsewhere. Ministers are also optimistic that plug- in taxis can play a major role in both driving demand for EVs and tackling urban air pollution.
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Demand for plug-in hybrid black cabs from UK-based man- ufacturer LEVC has soared in recent months, as cabbies look to take advan- tage of the lower running costs plug-in vehicles offer. Mean- while, Uber has set a high profile target to switch to a fully elec- tric fleet in London by 2025 and has introduced a new charge on all jour- neys to help fund the transition.
However, some taxi operators have warn- ed that access to charge points could slow the
shift
towards plug-in vehi- cles, especially if demand for public charge points con- tinues to increase as more motorists switch to EVs them- selves. As such, the promise of more dedicated charge points is likely to be welcomed by envi- ronmental campaig- ners and taxi opera-
tors alike. The move is the lat- est in a series of funding
commit-
ments from the DfT designed to strength- en a decarbonisation strategy that has been widely criti- cised by MPs and campaigners for not being
ambitious
enough. The government also announced the win- ners of a £14m competition to fund hydrogen fuel cell vehicle projects.
GLASGOWLEZ STANDARDS MAY FORCE TAXI DRIVERS OFF THE ROAD
Glasgow taxi drivers could be forced off the road if they have to replace vehicles to meet Low Emis- sion Zone (LEZ) standards. The council has agreed to imple- ment the LEZ in the city centre to all vehicles meaning vehicles must have an emissions stan- dard of Euro 4 for petrol and Euro 6 for diesel by Decem- ber 2022. Buses will be affect- ed from December 31 this year. But concerns have been raised by members of Unite the Union Glasgow CAB section who believe these new low emissions vehi- cles, will
force
drivers out of their jobs if they can’t get a five-year loan from the Government or council to pay for them.
Calum Anderson, chairman of Glas- gow CAB section, told GlasgowLive: “It is going to cost indi- vidual taxi drivers around £40,000 to meet these stan- dards. This is going to be a massive issue for them. “There are 1,420 active taxis in Glas- gow but only 200 of them are Euro 6. This means around 1,200 will have to be replaced within three years. We can take out a loan from Energy Trust Scot- land, which is run by the Scottish Govern- ment, over the next five years. The pot of money is running low and it is unlikely drivers will be suc- cessful because of their low earnings. “We have to acquire vehicles which are wheelchair friendly which means taxis cost more than
three times the
amount of private hire cars. People are already giving up their jobs because they can’t afford it. There aren’t enough taxi drivers because we are not making a living. “If you own two or three taxis you are in trouble. When it comes
to 2022
many will hand their plates back to the council. We do have a bit of time to get organised. “We can put our vehicles through a LPG
conversion
which would cost around £12,000 per taxi. This means putting a petrol engine into a diesel taxi. We approached
have the
council for funding who said they will contact the Scottish Government but we have not heard back.”
MARCH 2019
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