TAXI RETROFIT GRANTS: Cabbies able to switch to EURO 6 compliant cabs for as little as £1,300

Several major councils across England and Scotland are now offering grants to taxi drivers willing to upgrade the cabs they drive to cleaner EURO 6 compliant levels.

Cab drivers could make the switch to greener cabs for as little as £1,300 in some cities according to latest research released.

According to Cybrand, a UK firm that provides retrofit exhaust and emission control solutions for diesel-engined applications, more and more Clean Air Zones are rising in prominence across the UK and are showing no signs of slowing down.

Aside from buying a new Zero-Emission Capable (ZEC) taxi, retrofitting existing cabs to meet Euro 6 compliance standards is seen as one way to eliminate daily charges and future proofing your taxi. Using a fully approved retrofit conversion will not only save money on fees, but it will also ensure that your taxi is less harmful to the environment which carries long-term benefits for everybody.

Several councils in England and Scotland have made grants available to taxi drivers to shift to the cleaner technology.

In England, Manchester, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Bradford and Bath all offer taxi drivers the option to convert their cabs. In Scotland the big four cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee also provide clean air grant funding for cabbies.

The conversion is currently available for Euro 5 Mercedes Vito and Peugeot E7 taxis, with the LTi TX4 expected to be added shortly. The price is £5,195 + vat though for most cities implementing Clean Air Zones there are grants available through local government, generally for 80% of this amount meaning the typical cost to a taxi driver is just £1,234.

The table below outlines the funding details for each city:

The accreditation required to become exempt from emission zone fees within the LEZ or CAZ is known as Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS) and is administered by the Energy Saving Trust. Cybrand are the only approved installer with this certification able to offer a retrofit conversion on taxis which doesn’t involve a completely new engine.

On a standard Euro 5 compliant taxi, exhaust gas from the turbocharger passes directly into the combined catalytic converter and diesel particulate filter and from there through the silencer to the tailpipe.

On a retrofitted Euro 6 compliant cab, a new Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system is installed into the exhaust system further downstream. This incorporates a thermo-electric element which helps to bring the exhaust to an ideal temperature to encourage efficient catalytic conversion. Together with the introduction of AdBlue, which is a diesel exhaust fluid, the SCR system reduces NOx down to levels that exceed the requirements of Euro 6.

SCR is beneficial because it reduces NOx by up to 90% and is one of the most cost-effective and fuel-efficient technologies available.

The retrofit system also comes with a full 2-year warranty and local installation options are being rolled out continuously.