Unfortunately this zero emission black cab is not likely to be made available till well after 2015
l welcomed the new hybrid blakc cab taxi ( zero emission ) launched in London yesterday, and call upon the Mayor to reduce the age of London’s taxi fleet by reducing his proposed upper age limit from 15 years to 10 years by 2012 in his latest draft air quality strategy. The 15 year age limit is just too high for London’s black cabs, particular if you known that the average age of a black cab is 7.5 years. Thats twice the average age. Incredibly under present regulations we still have a sole registered black cab dating back to 1986 !
It’s all very well & good bringing out the new high-tech toys, but these new taxis aren’t by themselves going to solve London’s pollution problems. We need to completely overhaul London’s taxi fleet and get the oldest vehicles off the roads with some good old-fashioned policy measures. Bring the upper age limit down & at a stroke you’ll reduce pollution and by extension respiratory illness. Such a move is already overdue – 2012 is long enough to wait for this, let alone 2015.
The Mayor’s own air quality strategy highlights the particular pollution problem caused by black cabs and yet incredibly he saw fit to abolish their six monthly road-worthiness tests. So far the Mayor’s alleged pollution reduction measures have done little to get the EU off our backs and just recently the Commission made it quite clear they are going to issue large fines to the UK as a result of London’s pollution levels.
I have a 12 year old taxi most passengers entering it think it is new, I sp 4000 on a euro 3 turbo conversion and regularly clean the injectors and exhaust so that pollution is limited I use less fuel than the new equivalent.
New taxis are rubbish..use more fuel which i assume is more polluting, brake down all the time and a taxi driver buying a new taxi will have to work longer hours using yet more fuel and bringing more pollution to the capital. There is also an evironmental cost of scrapping an old vehicle and producing a new one. Overall scrapping taxis will be worse for the overall environment and also lesson taxi numbers on the streets of london as many will not be able to afford a new taxi in the current economic environment.
If a zero emmitions taxi came out that was truely zero emmisions i would buy it the last thing i want is to damage peoples health but if you want londons air cleaner why not just ban all vehicles from entering london except for taxis minicabs and buses..people can get about on the new cycle scheme and i have seen some very polluting vehicles on the road. The age of a vehicle is irrelevant a infact much of the public prefer to get into an old fairway than brand new mercedes (rear wheel steering brakes) taxi as tht is what they expect.
I disagree totally with an age limit as you can have an old taxi running LPG which is euro 5..better than the rubbish euro 4 taxis currently on offer..If either borris or yourself would like to buy the £43000 taxi (including finance) for us i am sure that every taxi driver would upgrade his taxi.
thanks for reading my ramble and although people have the imression from the 1970’s that we earn alot I can assure you we don’t. thanks for reading this kind regards joseph cork