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Perry Richardson

There is “more than enough capacity” for cabbies wanting to charge their electric taxis says London

There is “more than enough capacity as things stand” for taxi drivers to charge their electric taxis and make the change to electric, according to the London Mayor. The news comes after Sadiq Khan was answering questions from Conservative Assembly Member and future mayoral candidate, Shaun Bailey, around the hot topic of taxi charging points in the capital.

Whilst over 1,500 licensed black cabs have made the move to electric already, there are studies to suggest the move has been hindered by a lack of rapid charging points located centrally in London. There are also questions surrounding the poor maintenance, lack of enforcement and high costs attached to some of the taxi dedicated sites. Shaun Bailey AM directly asked Khan whether he considered there to be enough rapid charge points to support taxi drivers who have switched to the Zero Emission Capable taxi. He also questioned whether the current number of 72 dedicated taxi charge points was enough to encourage more drivers to make the move to electric. London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am helping our world-famous taxi trade to go electric by giving drivers the financial support, priority and charging infrastructure they need to switch to cleaner Zero Emission Capable (ZEC) models. “As of 8 May 2019, TfL have helped to deliver 178 new rapid charge points. 72 of these are dedicated exclusively for electric taxis. There is now a total of over 200 rapid charge points when including other providers. London boroughs have also installed over 1,000 new lamp column charge points in residential areas, as part of the joint GLA/TfL/London Councils Go Ultra Low City Scheme, which will help drivers without off-street parking to charge overnight at home.  “This is more than enough capacity as things stand but it continues to be monitored with the trade. TfL are informing drivers where rapid charge points have been installed as well as providing information on those that are less busy.  “Following the work of my Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Taskforce, I will be publishing a new Delivery Plan so that we continue to support the uptake of electric vehicles and our pioneering taxi trade over the coming years.” 

Image: Greater London Authority 

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