Cash To Make Brighton Taxis Greener

11 February 2019, 12:55 | Updated: 11 February 2019, 12:57

Brighton's getting nearly half a million pounds for new electric taxi hubs and fast charging facilities.

The council's bid to the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (Olev) was awarded in full and will pay for 75% of the scheme to provide a network of charging facilities for taxis across the city. 

The remaining 25% will be paid for through a concession agreement, with a portion of the charge coming back to the council.

Taxis will benefit from four rapid charging electric vehicle hubs in the city. Each hub will have three rapid charging stations and will be for taxi use. The infrastructure is designed to support taxi operators in choosing electric vehicles.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, chair of the city's environment, transport & sustainability committee, said: "This money will support local companies who want to introduce electric vehicles to their fleet by ensuring they have the infrastructure to operate."

In a council survey of taxi and private hire drivers and companies, 81% of those responding said that their cars currently use diesel but almost a third said they would consider changing to an electric vehicle in the next one to two years and 43% said they had seen an electric vehicle they would like to buy but would not do so until there were more places to charge. The cost of charging an electric vehicle would be much cheaper than conventional fuel.

The charging stations are part of a wider plan to move towards zero emissions and improved air quality in the city.

Last week it was announced £4 million was going to be spent on new greener buses.