…GREEN MEANS GO
MORE THAN 100 SHEFFIELD TAXI DRIVERS QUIT THE TRADE AS THEY CAN’T AFFORD NEW CLEAN CABS
More than 100 taxi drivers have quit the trade because they can’t afford new cabs to meet clean air standards. Former councillor Ibrar Hussain, speak- ing on behalf of taxi drivers, presented a council meeting with a petition with 178 signatures from taxi drivers worried about plans for a Clean Air Zone around the city cen- tre and said almost 80 per cent of taxi drivers took part in a recent consultation on the plans.
He told The Star: “The biggest con- cern is Euro 6 vehicles. The trade is 3,000 drivers – 1,900 private hire and 857 black cabs but 100-plus have surrendered their licence
because
they can’t afford to buy new vehicles or continue. “If Euro 6 diesel vehicles are not allowed, the black cab trade will be decimated because the new electric vehicles cost up- wards of £58,000. The private hire
N. HERTS PROMOTES GREENER TAXIS
North Hertfordshire District Council intro- duced subsidised licensing fees last month for hackney carriages and pri- vate hire vehicles that use clean fuel. The introduction of the new fees aims to encourage the use of electric and hybrid
vehicles including: • Supporting the purchase of elec- tric or hybrid hire vehicles
• Installing home charging points for hire vehicles
• Providing electric charging points near taxi ranks
vehicles
which are less harmful to the envi- ronment, and could result in licensing fees being slashed by up to 50 per cent, depending on what type of fuel the vehicle uses. As part of its ongo- ing work to tackle climate change, the council is also cur- rently considering several other envi- ronmentally friendly options for hire
• Introducing ‘no idling’ conditions for taxi ranks
These initiatives
from the NHDC licensing team fol- low on from the declaration of a Cli- mate Emergency by the council in May this year. As a result of this declaration, a Cabinet Panel was set up to consider and investigate a range of climate and environmental issues within the local community.
OCTOBER 2019
Aftab Ahmed, Cllr Bob Johnson and Ibrar Hussain
trade will also be very badly affected.” The zone, around the ring road and inner
taxis. It’s an attempt to slash the levels of nitrogen
dioxide ring road,
would see a charge of £10 a day for
amid pressure from the Government but the council needs £50m to go ahead
with it. Mr Hussain added: “This petition is ask- ing the scrutiny board to look at the detail and break- down of the res- ponses and, as a trade, we want to put our representa- tion and ideas be- fore a submission is made to the govern- ment in December. “We need to work together
in true
partnership because this is about peo- ple’s livelihoods, not politics.
Lessons
need to be learned from other cities
which are allowing Euro 6 vehicles. “This has to be phased in, has to be worked on together and has to be done in a true partnership.” Cllr Bob Johnson, cabinet member for transport, said there had been an “amaz- ing” response to the consultation, which will now be analy- sed. “This is the end of the official consulta- tion but I have a commitment to con- tinue to meet with the taxi trade up to our submission.”
NEWCASTLE COUNCIL REVEALS THE VEHICLES THAT WILL BE CHARGED TO DRIVE INTO CITY
Taxis are facing daily fees to drive into Newcastle city cen- tre under final plans for a clean air toll on Tyneside. Chroniclelive
re-
ports that after months of contro- versy, council bosses revealed last month their
preferred
method of cutting air pollution on the region’s roads. The final plans will see a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) covering New- castle city centre, which lorries, buses, coaches, taxis, and vans will be charged to enter if they don’t comply with emis- sions standards. The CAZ will come into force in 2021 - but the proposed charges will not apply to newer or
zero-emissions vehi- cles. Taxis and PHVs are set to be charged £12.50 per day. Taxi drivers have previously warned that the charges will inevitably lead to higher fares for pas- sengers, while city centre businesses have raised concerns about the impact on their trade. Newcastle, Gates- head, and North Tyneside
council
chiefs are under a Government order to reduce air pollu- tion by 2021 and have been threat- ened with legal action from minis- ters if they do not meet that deadline. Previous plans to create a much larger CAZ in which pri- vate cars would also
have been charged or for a toll on the three
central
bridges across the River Tyne, both of which proved huge- ly unpopular with motorists,
have
been shelved. Gateshead Council leader Martin Gan- non insists that the final option, pre- sented to the three authorities’ cabinets in September before a six-week public consultation, will still “improve our air quality as quickly” as the more severe charging options if it is
implemented
alongside a raft of other environmental upgrades. In the coming weeks, councillors will also be asked to agree a further package of
measures designed to clean up pollution hotspots. Cllr Arlene Ainsley, cabinet member for transport and air quality at Newcastle City Council, said: “We’ve developed a package of mea- sures to address many of the issues the public and busi- nesses raised with us during our first consultation. “We’re trying to avoid adding disruption to our local economy just to satisfy a nar- row focus from Gov- ernment that we’ve consistently argued isn’t comprehensive in what it’s trying to achieve.” The final proposal is due to be submitted to the Government in November.
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