Pay-per-mile electric taxi loan should SAVE 116 tonnes of CO2 per annum, says London Mayor

Image credit: LEVC

An innovative pay-per-mile loan handed to electric taxi rental firm Colts Cabs is expected to help save 116 tonnes of CO2 per annum, exceeding targets set, says the Mayor of London.

The comments come after the Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF) provided a loan to taxi firm Colts Cabs Limited (Colts) to fund 30 LEVC TX vehicles through an innovative and flexible pay-per-mile mechanism managed by Zeti.

Zeti developed an innovative financing structure for vehicle leasing based on a pay-per-mile principle measured against the per mile usage of vehicle fleets. The unique platform called ZERO includes structuring a minimum mileage to protect the lender. The Zeti ZERO software platform also allowed fleet operators to produce granular real-time vehicle data and to track the vehicle location. The facility is paid off once the vehicle has reached the agreed mileage.

London Assembly Member, Caroline Pidgeon, probed the Mayor of London over more specific details of the agreement. Pidgeon asked what safeguards were put in place by MEEF so that payments are made only for the miles driven in electric mode and not when the petrol engine is being used in the taxi.

Sadiq Khan responded: “My Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF) has made a loan to Colt Cabs Limited to fund 30 zero emission capable taxis. This will be monitored by a London based FinTech start-up, Zeti.

“Before investing in this project MEEF undertook technical due diligence (led by a third-party expert) to ensure the project will meet MEEF’s target of saving a tonne of CO2 for every £7,000 invested. The MEEF investment in this project is expected to save 116 tonnes of CO2 per annum, comfortably exceeding the target.

“The loan agreement from MEEF requires the borrower to put in place a Measurement and Verification Plan to ensure the expected emission savings are delivered. The running costs of a zero-emission capable taxi are lower in electric mode, meaning drivers are incentivised to drive in the electric mode as much as possible.”

Colts, a London based Small Medium Enterprise, is one of London’s largest black cab fleet operators having been in operation since 1991 with over 800 vehicles. Colts rent out the black cabs to individual licensed black cab drivers.

Their current fleet is predominately diesel and Colts, along with its sister company Fulham Cabs, are looking to increase their combined electric fleet to 2,000 vehicles by 2025.