Mayor of London set to face questions on high black taxi wheelchair accessible production costs

Image credit: Dynamo Motors

The Mayor of London faces questions that focus on the high costs of wheelchair accessible development should a new manufacturer wish to enter the black taxi market.

Keith Prince, a Conservative London Assembly member, will ask the Mayor what Transport for London’s (TfL) figures are on how much it would cost any new manufacturer per vehicle to meet the current Metropolitan Conditions of Fitness to provide London with another model for the taxi market.

According to the London Assembly member, the manufacturer of the Dynamo taxi - which has since gone out of business - stated that converting the Nissan donor vehicle to a wheelchair accessible vehicle added around £10,000 plus VAT to its model.

Currently just one vehicle meets the strict criteria set by the regulators TfL; LEVC’s TX. As of January 2018, all new taxis in London must be zero-emission capable, wheelchair accessible and able to complete a tighter turning circle than standard cars.

Some trade officials are exploring ways to reduce the cost of taxi vehicles which have sky rocketed due to the rate of inflation and a spike in interest rates.

The questions are set to be put forward officially on 23 February 2023 as part of February’s Mayor’s Question Time.