Cabbies fear being priced out over emissions requirements
TAXI licence changes which require Coventry firms to have zero emission capability vehicles could price them out of the industry, it has been claimed.
Coventry is one of only 28 towns and cities in England where nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels are forecast to exceed legal limits in 2021.
New licensing laws have been approved by cabinet to reduce this, which includes implementing a phased zero emission rule for taxi firms.
Currently licenced vehicles will only have their licence renewed if they have zero emission capacity in 2024, while all new vehicles will be required to have zero emission capability from 2020.
Speaking at a scrutiny co-ordination committee meeting on Wednesday, chair Councillor Tariq Cann, said: “There is a feeling in the city that because of all these developments there are serious difficulties now facing our own taxi drivers.
“For example the requirement to have a new vehicle by 2024 - that is such a short time scale for them to implement it and there is the £60,000 to £70,000 cost of buying a taxi. It is a massive cost to them bearing in mind business is already dwindling because of the competition from Uber and now you have got tuk-tuks and pedicabs coming.”
Cllr Rupinder Singh added: “It is about the general cost of operating in a market where other people competing have a option.
“Is it putting those people at a disadvantage.”
The total cost of replacing a car to meet the new zero emission requirements would be £60,000 to £70,000, while the cost to replace far cheaper existing black cabs was around £50,000.
But there is £151,000 funding to help towards cleaner taxis, the meeting was told.
The first 60 taxis given a package of £2,000 towards income, three years’ worth of licence fees, and three years’ worth of inspection fees to help meet the cost of replacing their vehicles.
This would equate to a package worth £2,591 per vehicle, while the government would also offer £7,500 towards the cost, the meeting was told.
Andrew Walster, the council’s director of regulatory services, said: “Coventry has a very extensive package to help hackney carriage drivers in particular get financial incentives to help them buy and purchase new cabs.
“It is possibly one of the most generous packages in the country at the moment because of money we have put in.”