London mayor Boris Johnson has announced that he wants all new black cabs for sale in London to be electric vehicles by 2020.
Black cabs are thought to account for around 16% of all vehicle emissions in London, which has the poorest air quality in the UK and among the worst of the major European cities.
This is the third in a series of emissions cutting commitments aimed at improving air quality as pressure increases on the mayor to act on the issue. From 2012, hackney cab licences will be refused for cabs over 15 years old. This move will remove around 1,200 vehicles from the city fleet. And from 2013, all cabs will be subjected to two emissions tests per year.
Black Cabs Future Vision
In his statement Boris Johnson said: “London’s magnificent cabbies are famous the world over for their top-notch service but I also want the capital’s taxi fleet to match up to the highest environmental standards that a great city like ours deserves.
“From 2012, when the world heads to London, we will remove the oldest, dirtiest cabs from our streets. But we are also offering a juicy carrot with the establishment of a fund to help speed up the introduction of electric black cabs. This forms part of a robust package of long-term measures to progressively clean up London’s air.”
To encourage black cab drivers to switch to lower emission vehicles, a pot of £1m has been created to assist towards purchase price. The mayoral team claims it is also in discussions with taxi manufacturers to encourage them to develop an affordable, workable vehicle in time for the 2020 target.
Criticism
However, the mayoral strategy has been criticised by campaigners who claim that the measures to tackle what is a major public health concern are “Not fit for purpose”. They also accuse the mayor of taking too long to implement change and for taking regressive steps on the issue.
Darren Johnson, a Green party member of the London assembly, said: “The London Mayor has dithered and delayed for two and a half years over a half-baked plan that doesn’t do the job. He abolished six monthly inspections of black cabs but now appears to be reinstating them from 2013.”
And Simon Birkett, director of Clean Air in London, added: “The mayor has stumbled again after taking more backward steps on existing and proven air quality measures in the last two and a half years than he is committed to taking over the next 10 years.”
Rejected Peugeot Black Cab
Mayor Johnson has previously witnessed an all-electric version of the full specification Peugeot E7 black cab. However he indicated at the time that the ancient ‘turning circle’ regulation, created in the early days of motorised cabs, was more important than the benefits offered by the all-electric Peugeot cab.