£24m to help Black Cabs go green

The Mayor of London has announced plans from £24m to help more black cab drivers switch to electric vehicles, an increase on TfL’s existing £18m fund which launched last month.

Under the plans, grants will be restructured to provide more payments at higher levels. 1,000 more drivers will be able to claim the maximum £10,000 payment from trading in their old vehicles earlier.

Black cabs are exempt from the Ultra Low Emission Zone, but they cause 20 per cent of road transport emissions in central London, and this is expected to grow further this year unless action is taken. TfL’s proposals aim to address this by reducing taxi-based NOx emissions by 65 per cent by 2025.

TfL claims the enhanced scheme could reduce NOx taxi emissions by as much as 20 per cent.

The TfL enhanced delicensing fund has tiered payment levels on a first come, first served basis. From 1 January last year, all black cabs licensed for the first time have had to be zero emission capable (ZEC). There are now more than 1,000 of the new environmentally friendly vehicles serving London, with more than 150 rapid charging points, 64 of which are specifically reserved for black cabs. By 2020 there will be at least 300 points.

The funding boost comes as TfL launches a 10-week public consultation on changes which would significantly reduce harmful emissions from taxis. Londoners are being asked for their views on changing the age limits of black cabs to speed up the process of the dirtiest vehicles being replaced with zero-emission-capable cabs.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Working with cabbies to reduce the number of polluting taxis is a key part of our plans to improve London’s air quality."

Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said: “This will provide a leg-up to those who want to adopt this exciting new technology. Anything we can do to improve air quality in London will benefit everyone, including taxi drivers who will suffer the ill effects of air pollution as much as anyone else.”

Alex Williams, TfL’s Director of City Planning, said: “More than 1,000 [Taxi Drivers] are already making a major contribution to cleaning up the air for future generations by using electric black cabs. This package of measures 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."