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London Taxi Company opens £300M Coventry plant for electric cabs
- notyourwork 10y agoI wonder if the underlying driver of this is the profits Uber/Lyft are siphoning from Taxi companies. If taxi companies can reduce operating costs in long term, they may be able to reduce price in short term to become more competitive. (I know nothing about the taxi business, this is my thoughts from the outside looking in so I welcome correction!)
- gbuk2013 10y agoMore likely the pollution issues we've had this year - most of those black cabs are diesel, whereas Uber (who in UK are always licenced private hire drivers) are usually driving the Toyota Prius hybrids. Pollution was mentioned in the earlier story about these cabs being tested in extreme winter conditions. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39121306 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39121306
- notyourwork 10y agoPollution makes sense too, I didn't realize this but thanks!
- Animats 10y agoIt's going to take a decade, maybe longer, to get rid of all the Diesel cars. That was a huge mistake.
- cwilkes 10y agoAs opposed to trying to ban all diesel taxis immediately and not having the law passed due to opposition? You have to start somewhere.
- ZeroGravitas 10y agoAs with many things there's an 80/20 thing going on. A small diesel car driven once a week by a grandmother in the suburbs is much less of an issue than a diesel cab running constantly in the city centre. There's various rules and technologies coming into force that should have a big impact.
- Reason077 10y agoExactly. Along with taxis, diesel vans are another huge contributor that must be prioritised. They're some of the dirtiest, most polluting vehicles - and many are on central London streets constantly making deliveries, etc. It would make sense to focus subsidies on getting these guys into electrics/hybrids first. Each diesel van off the road has a much bigger impact on air quality than, say, getting Grandma a subsidised Nissan LEAF.
- jgrahamc 10y agoThis is a requirement from January 2018. All new taxis in London must be zero emissions vehicles: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/october/mayor-and-tfl-finalise-ulez-requirements-for-taxi-and-minicab-trades https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/octobe... "From 1 January 2018, all taxis licensed for the first time must be zero emission capable, while new diesel taxis will not be allowed in London."
- kalleboo 10y agoThat little word "capable" in there is pretty important. These new cars are plug-in hybrids, not pure electric. What mileage does a taxi drive in one day? Say if the car could charge to 100% during the driver's lunch break, what range would it need to stay on electric all day?
- Brakenshire 10y agohttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10572289/New-electric-black-cab-could-save-drivers-200-per-week.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10... That says 200 miles a day roughly, so with morning and lunch break and a 70 mile range it would be half to 2/3rds powered by electric. A lot would depend on how fast the car can charge.
- olivermarks 10y agoHow these taxis will consume energy: electricity generation in the UK comes from three main sources – gas, coal-fired power stations and nuclear. A small but growing proportion of electricity is supplied by renewables. Gas accounted for 46 % of electricity supplied in 2008.
- lucaspiller 10y agoIt's not perfect but burning gas emits less CO2 than burning petrol or diesel. It also keeps all the pollutants out of the city, so public health should increase.
- Symbiote 10y agoKeeping the pollution out of London is the best part. By European standards, the city is very polluted, and the old taxis are disproportionately responsible.
- justincormack 10y agoBuses are also a big contributor, although these are gradually being replaced too.
- cjrp 10y agoIndeed, I've taken a 100% electric bus (route 507) and it was very good. No rumbling, polluting diesel engine.
- Symbiote 10y agoBuses in London have been updated to Euro IV standard, and most are Euro V or better. Of course, they are larger vehicles, and pollute in proportion, but at least they don't park in long lines and idle their engines for hours... http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-fleet-audit-130117.pdf http://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-fleet-audit-130117.pdf
- redcalx 10y ago
- 1ba9115454 10y agoThe current target set by the Mayor of London is that by 2023 ALL taxis in London will be zero emission including Uber. That's the law. Great news for pollution in London and great news for the push towards electric vehicles in general.
- pjbster 10y agoI walked along Marylebone Road last night (6:30 pm) and experienced the traffic fumes first-hand. Truly awful. The most alarming thing is that this is the route I normally cycle along and I've never noticed the pollution in this way before (certainly due to my cognition being monopolised by situational dynamics - it's a busy road!). Makes me wonder whether the respiratory illness I'm suffering at the moment is related. Clean air can't come soon enough to London.
- timthorn 10y agoPerhaps the traffic fumes last night were particularly bad given all the road closures?
- chillydawg 10y agoThat road is always rammed.
- justincormack 10y agoThat is one of the worst places, measurements of which are what has caused the EU to threaten to take London to court for pollution. It does vary from day to day depending on wind but is always pretty bad.
- Reason077 10y agomeasurements of which are what has caused the EU to threaten to take London to court for pollution. ...which I always find rather ironic, considering it was the EU's lax standards for vehicle emissions that caused the problem in the first place, by allowing the proliferation of diesel vehicles!
- rahimnathwani 10y agoAccording to the article, taxpayers will be subsidising taxi drivers by at least 80MM GBP: 16MM for the factory, and 64MM in direct subsidies to taxi owners. I don't see why taxpayers should foot the bill for this, when most Londoners cannot afford to ride in London taxis (and use buses, tube or minicabs/Uber instead).
- chillydawg 10y agoWe all benefit from fewer old diesels on the road.
- justincormack 10y agoTrue, and they don't seem politically willing to ban diesels in London, given the government encouraged their purchase in the first place.
- hardlianotion 10y agoI believe that from 2018, all new London taxis will have to be zero emission capable. On the other hand, the "capable" may be weasel wording. It seems that the taxi being discussed is a hybrid with quite a short range (70 miles?). It can be recharged at a point, but can also be recharged via its petrol engine, which may run for lengthy periods if there are no quick charging points available (not many at the moment in London). Seems like a smallish step in the right direction.
- 10y ago
- robk 10y agoThese existing black cabs are so horribly polluting it's disgusting. I'm just glad to get all those old taxis off the road immediately.
- pmuk 10y agoThis plant is for the TX5, an electric taxi.