Electric taxis plan brings £500,000 boost for Wolverhampton

The cash grant was been welcomed by city leaders who want to convert a sixth of its black taxis and private hire cabs to electric vehicles in the next three years.

The government announced in October that it was allocating £35 million on schemes that encourage the uptake of more environmentally-friendly ultra-low-emission vehicles. Included is a £20m taxi scheme.

They council had bid for £750,000 but it still means that work can now start in Wolverhampton on building the infrastructure to facilitate electric taxis as they become more readily available over the next decade.

An initial 24 charging points will be installed over the next three years, with the aid of match funding from council budgets. Taxi drivers will also receive £7,500 top-ups to convert to electric cabs.

City centre locations identified as possible charging points include the bus lay-by at Broad Street car park and the taxi feeder rank at Castle Street as the main ones. Lichfield Street, Princess Street and the new railway station are also earmarked.

The council says their plans fit in with wider work to promote low-emission vehicles by the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Cabinet member for city economy, Councillor John Reynolds, said: “We are working closely with the taxi drivers in the city on this project.

"Electric taxis bring many benefits. They improve air quality and public health, make the city more attractive, support the economy of the Midlands, and support innovation and transformation, as well as help reduce carbon emissions.”

Parminder Sekhon, chairman of Wolverhampton Taxi Owners Association, said the plan was not about forcing taxi drivers to change their vehicles but helping them get ahead of the game.

“This is great news and these new facilities will help protect the trade as our industry embraces new technologies," he said.

“Whilst drivers would like to purchase low-emission vehicles, it needs to be a viable business option. There are costs associated with these vehicles, so any support available from central government and the licensing authority will help drivers make the change to newer cleaner vehicles.”

The council is aiming to convert 16 per cent of both the Hackney and private hire fleets in the city to electric vehicles by 2020.

A network of taxi charging points in and around the city centre will be developed over a three-year period.

As well as the taxi scheme, the government is spending £10m on charging points near workplaces and houses with no off-street parking.

Smaller projects will include £2m of grants for organisations to use hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and a £3.75m plan to encourage the use of zero-emission motorcycles and scooters.

The initiatives come as part of the Government’s pledge to invest £600 million in ultra-low-emission vehicles by 2020.