More than £6 million will be awarded to local authorities in the UK by the government, to help boost the shift to ultra-low emission taxis.
A total of 17 councils will receive funds from OLEV – the Department for Transport’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles – with more than 300 charge points aimed at taxi use to be installed.
The boost to rapid charging infrastructure will see 46 fast chargers and almost 300 rapid points added, with local authorities such as Greater Manchester, Brighton & Hove, Leicester, and the north east benefiting.
It is estimated that more than 800 black cabs and more than 3,000 private hire vehicles will be able to use the new charge points, as a move to greener transport is accelerated as part of the government’s Road to Zero strategy.
Announced today (Tuesday 5th February) Jesse Norman, Future of Mobility Minister, said: “The government wants all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040. Getting the right infrastructure and investment in place is a crucial part of this.
“Today’s funding will support almost 4,000 ultra low emission vehicles across the country. It is a further sign that the UK is making real progress in the transition to greener transport.”
Richard Harrington, Automotive Minister, said: “The UK has led the world in cutting emissions while maintaining growth in our economy. These new charge points for greener taxis will help accelerate a cleaner environment for people across the UK.
“This will also point the way for a better, healthier future for us all as part of the government’s modern Industrial Strategy which builds on the government’s long-standing partnership with the UK automotive sector.”
All charge points will be added to Zap-Map when they go live. These will join the existing taxi EV charge points that can be found by using the filters on both desktop and app.
