£1.4M GRANTED: Over HALF of Birmingham taxi vehicles now compliant with CAZ requirements

Over half of Birmingham City Council’s (BCC) licensed taxis are now compliant with the city’s new Clean Air Zone requirements thanks to over £1.4million in funding helping cabbies make the switch to cleaner cabs.

276 applications for support from taxi drivers have so far been approved which has provided a total of £1,403,750 in support grants paid out.

The funding has gone towards three upgrade options offered by BCC to cabbies. These include buying a new euro 6 compliant vehicle, retrofitting existing vehicles and covering the operating costs of a Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (ULEV).

Cabbies can apply for a £5,000 grant towards the cost of an accredited retrofit solution. So far £455,000 has been approved and paid out through this scheme.

Grants towards the cost of a euro 6 compliant vehicle have also been popular, with the scheme paying out £930,000 to date. The final option of covering the operating costs of a ULEV has paid out just £18,750 so far.

In comparison a total of £1,731,000 has been paid to private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers against 1,269 applications to the private hire schemes.

Back in 2019 BCC first announced up to £15million in support to the Hackney Carriage and PHV drivers over the next few years as the city looked to reduce emission levels.

The coronavirus pandemic meant most taxi drivers struggled financially during enforced lockdowns and restrictions.

The planned introduction of the Clean Air Zone will cover all roads within the A4540 Middleway Ring Road. BCC say the purpose is to improve air quality, in particular by discouraging the most polluting vehicles from entering the zone.

The council are keen to highlight that NO vehicle is banned, but the most polluting vehicles will have to pay a daily charge to travel in the area.