Glasgow taxi drivers warn they could be forced to ditch electric cars

Glasgow taxi drivers with electric cars are claiming they are thinking about ditching them and switching back to diesel because of the cost to charge them up.

A new tariff was introduced by the city council earlier this week meaning motorists will pay 70p per kilowatt of energy for rapid charging.

READ MORE: Glasgow private hire drivers "forced into debt" to meet new Low Emission Zone rules

Alfie Wellcoat bought his first electric vehicle five years ago and exclusively told Clyde 1: "I am going to have to pay £100 or £200 a week just to charge up my car.

"That is far higher than what I would be forking out to fill up a diesel car and I also have to drive around to find chargers and wait for them to become available.

"It would be much easier for me to go back to a diesel because I could turn up to a filling station and drive off again in a few minutes."

Standard charging units costs 40p per kilowatt of energy and drivers have a maximum of 2 hours to power their vehicle up in the city centre.

John Wallace bought a brand new electric car last year to continue to be able to drive his passengers in and out of the city's new Low Emission Zone in June.

He claims that he has already lost tens of thousands of pounds because EVs are now falling in value.

"I am going to have to add at least an extra hour to my shift just to be able to charge up the car and the maintenance on the chargers in Glasgow are not the best.

"Not many of them work at full speed and there is now a fee for people who stay longer than the time limit.

"I regret buying my electric car - it is the worst decision I ever made in my line of business."

READ MORE: Glasgow cabs will not get blanket extension to become LEZ compliant

Green councillor for Pollokshields Jon Molyneux claims he will be working to help cabbies across the city and would like to see dedicated charging points for them.

He said: "It would clearly be a backwards step for these people to give up electric or hybrid vehicles in favour of diesel engines and I absolutely recognise those concerns.

"We have made recommendations to council officers to engage with taxi drivers so they do not feel they need to get rid of their EVs.

"Taxis are an important part of our public network and we should be supporting them to make the transition in a way that is sustainable and affordable."

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "The introduction of a tariff for using public EV charging points brings Glasgow into line with other local authorities across Scotland.

“Electricity for public charging has been fully subsidised in Glasgow since 2013 as a way to support a shift to emission free electric vehicles and that has proved to be effective

“The tariff itself will be similar with rates for public charging in other local authority areas and help support the operation of the public network.

“At a basic level, a tariff will discourage drivers from overstaying in charging bays, which we know is an issue that causes frustration for other EV drivers.

“We are also tightening arrangements at our Newton Street charging hub to ensure taxis and private hire cars have access to dedicated rapid and ultra-rapid chargers.

“Even with our plans to add 119 public chargers this year to the current provision of 306 charging points in the city, it is anticipated that demand for charging will continue to grow.

“To meet this demand, it is essential the private sector invests in EV charging and introducing a tariff can show there are opportunities in EV charging for the private sector.

“The charging network is regularly monitored by Charge Place Scotland. Any issues should be reported so they can be properly investigated and any necessary repairs undertaken.”

Hear the latest news on Clyde 1 on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.