Post by acnedriver on Dec 19, 2022 6:32:23 GMT
A PLAN to offer up to £1,200 to taxi drivers to make the switch to an electric cab has been backed by councillors – but will anyone use it?
Worcester City Council revealed it is willing to offer a three-year discount for taxi drivers wanting to make the swap to electric or for drivers applying for a license for the first time in a green taxi.
The ploy has had the backing of councillors who see it as ‘getting the ball rolling’ but others had concerns that many cab drivers will snub the discount because of the expensive price tag of greener taxis – around £45,000 on average according to the council.
Cllr Louis Stephen said the city council was making a “modest but fairly significant step in the right direction” at the meeting in the Guildhall on Monday (December 12).
“With all these things I think you’ve got a chicken and egg situation and unless people start having a lot more electric vehicles, we won’t have enough charging points and you’re not going to create a whole lot of charging points if you haven’t got a lot of electric vehicles.
“So at some point, somewhere, someone’s going to have to start to break that link.”
However, Cllr Mitchell, the new leader of the city council, said the incentive was a “hollow gesture.”
“If you do the maths, it just doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The only people who are going to take advantage of this are those taxi drivers who are actually quite wealthy who will jump on it and save themselves £1,200 in the next three years.
“I just don’t see how it financially stacks up to be attractive … I just don’t think we’ll get much of a take up.”
The council has handed out more than 300 licences including just over 250 hackney cabs – and whilst just five are hybrid vehicles, none are electric.
The number of cab drivers offered the discount would be capped at ten each year and would cost the council around £37,000 if all 30 offers are claimed in the next three years.
uk.news.yahoo.com/discount-taxi-drivers-electric-switch-050000714.html
Worcester City Council revealed it is willing to offer a three-year discount for taxi drivers wanting to make the swap to electric or for drivers applying for a license for the first time in a green taxi.
The ploy has had the backing of councillors who see it as ‘getting the ball rolling’ but others had concerns that many cab drivers will snub the discount because of the expensive price tag of greener taxis – around £45,000 on average according to the council.
Cllr Louis Stephen said the city council was making a “modest but fairly significant step in the right direction” at the meeting in the Guildhall on Monday (December 12).
“With all these things I think you’ve got a chicken and egg situation and unless people start having a lot more electric vehicles, we won’t have enough charging points and you’re not going to create a whole lot of charging points if you haven’t got a lot of electric vehicles.
“So at some point, somewhere, someone’s going to have to start to break that link.”
However, Cllr Mitchell, the new leader of the city council, said the incentive was a “hollow gesture.”
“If you do the maths, it just doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The only people who are going to take advantage of this are those taxi drivers who are actually quite wealthy who will jump on it and save themselves £1,200 in the next three years.
“I just don’t see how it financially stacks up to be attractive … I just don’t think we’ll get much of a take up.”
The council has handed out more than 300 licences including just over 250 hackney cabs – and whilst just five are hybrid vehicles, none are electric.
The number of cab drivers offered the discount would be capped at ten each year and would cost the council around £37,000 if all 30 offers are claimed in the next three years.
uk.news.yahoo.com/discount-taxi-drivers-electric-switch-050000714.html