Reading taxi modernisation delayed
Efforts to make taxis greener have been put on hold due to the downturn in trade caused by covid
Efforts to make taxis in Reading greener by phasing out polluting taxi have been delayed.
Reading Borough Council’s licensing committee considered putting plans to phase out older taxi cabs at a meeting yesterday (Tuesday, February 1).
The council has a policy of removing old cabs from the taxi fleet in an effort to reduce emissions and improve air quality, called the Hackney Carriage Vehicle Emissions and Age Policy, which was established in October 2019.
Its aim is to have all the cabs, called hackney carriages, turned into ultra low emission vehicles (ULEV) by 2028.
But the phased removal of older cabs was delayed for two years in December 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
At the most recent meeting, councillors on both sides of the divide took pity on the town’s taxi drivers.
Asif Rashid, chairman of Reading Taxi Association appealed for the delay to be extended, which would mean 15 vehicles registered in 2011-12 could still be used until October 2024.
Sympathy
Councillor Tony Page (Labour, Abbey) said he had a great deal of sympathy for taxi drivers as their business has significantly dropped due to the pandemic.
Cllr Jeannette Skeats, the Conservative opposition leader and representative for Thames ward, said: “Clearly the council’s policy is to reduce emissions, which is right and proper.
“This is an exception for our drivers who do face hardship.”
But there was a feeling that a line needed to be ‘drawn in the sand’ for the eventual phasing out of older, more polluting taxis.
Cllr Adele Barnett-Ward (Labour, Caversham), appearing remotely, said: “A line does need to be drawn, we don’t want to come back every year with the same appeal for an extension.”
According to a report, there are only two ULEV cabs currently in Reading’s taxi fleet.
But cllr Barnett-Ward’s arguments were rebuffed by cllr Skeats, who argued the line does not need to be drawn in the sand “at this time” amid future uncertainty over the possibility of more lockdowns.
Decline
It was noted that the number of taxi trips had declined by 40 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Cllr Brenda McGonigle (Green, Park) suggested that taxi drivers should stop idling their engines to reduce the emissions their cars produce.
Cllr Page lamented the lack of government grant funding to help taxi drivers in Reading upgrade their cabs, funding that has been made available in London and Manchester.
He said: “At the moment, we’re expecting the trade to upgrade their vehicles entirely on their own.”
Decision
Ultimately, the committee decided to pause the policy for another year until October 2023, with the most polluting vehicles being taken off the road in October this year.
That means six cabs will have to be taken off the road by October this year.
The committee also resolved to meet to conduct a review of the policy in September, and write to the Government to make more grant funding available so that taxi drivers can speed up the upgrade of their cabs.