There will be no CCTV enforcement for electric taxi charge points confirms Mayor of London

There will be no CCTV enforcement for electric taxi charging bays confirms the Mayor of London.

Transport officials are instead keen to continue using Metropolitan Police Community Support Officers and Transport for London (TfL) Operational Officers to marshal the charge points.

Since 2018 the black taxi industry has invested nearly £200million into 3,500 zero-emission vehicles to clean up the capital’s poor air quality.

TfL have promised to deliver 300 new rapid charge points by the end of 2020. A “significant number” of those charge points will be dedicated for taxi use only according to the regulators.

Taxi drivers using dedicated taxi charge points have continued to experience abuse and misuse of the vital charging bays due to a lack of enforcement.

One taxi driver last week captured his frustrations after finding a private hire vehicle charging on a south London e-taxi charge point. In his tweet he said: “Can’t charge my cab again. Friday 7th August. 70 grand motor I can’t use on half the streets or charge”.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: “Transport for London (TfL) investigated the possibility of using CCTV enforcement for electric vehicle (EV) bays but determined that enforcement is not possible using the cameras currently in position on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN).

“Police Community Support Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Roads and Transport Policing Command, which is jointly funded by TfL, and TfL’s operational officers are currently best equipped to enforce EV bays. They do this as part of their regular deployments enforcing red route parking contraventions on the TLRN.”