Frustrated taxi drivers report 21 cases of ‘CHARGER ABUSE’ to Transport for London this month

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Drivers of London’s electric taxis have taken matters into their own hands this month by reporting 21 cases of ‘chargepoint abuse’ to licensing authorities in the capital.

Taxi drivers have become increasingly frustrated at the lack of enforcement stopping private hire vehicles and other cars using vital ‘taxi only’ charging bays. A group of cabbies have now created a new group using the @taxis_e Twitter channel to collate and report drivers incorrectly using designated electric taxi chargepoints, and in some cases, parking on taxi ranks.

Over 500 Twitter accounts already subscribe to and follow the channel on the social media platform Twitter. They are being urged to send in photos and details to @taxis_e who in turn will report to Transport for London (TfL).

Frustrated electric taxi drivers are being asked to safely provide photos or videos, along with date, time and location of the incident.

Cabbies in the capital have invested roughly £240million in nearly 4,000 Zero Emission Capable (ZEC) taxis since 2018. The vast majority of those licensed taxis are the popular LEVC TX model, but they also include nearly 100 fully electric Nissan Dynamos.

In a recent report delivered to TfL by Zap-Map, London has a total 522 rapid chargepoints. Of those, 311 rapid chargers in London were delivered by TfL, 84 of which are dedicated to taxi drivers only.

If a vehicle other than a taxi is found stopped within an E-taxi bay then it can be issued with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).

A spokesperson for the @Taxis_e group said: “Thank you to all the contributors this month for your reports of abuse, email sent to TPH (Taxi and Private Hire) who will consult with compliance and Charge bay management teams.

“21 reports of E charger abuse this month.”