TfL confirms Private Hire requirements for ULEZ from 2018
The Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) have today confirmed to the taxi and private hire trades how they will play their part in improving London’s air quality when the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is introduced in the Capital in 2020.
From 1 January 2018, all taxis licensed for the first time must be zero emission capable, while new diesel taxis will not be allowed in London.
For private hire vehicles, there are several milestones which will ensure that all vehicles granted a private hire licence for the first time after 1 January 2023 will be zero emission capable, regardless of age:
In advance of the ULEZ requirements, and to clean up the private hire fleet, all private hire vehicles licensed for the first time between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2019 must feature a Euro 6 petrol or diesel engine, or a Euro 4 petrol-hybrid engine.
From 1 January 2020 all new private hire vehicles – defined as those under 18 months old – licensed for the first time will have to be zero emission capable.
Older private hire vehicles – those over 18 months old – will need to feature a Euro 6 engine when licensed for the first time between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2022. They will also need to be zero emission capable from 2023.
This follows a second consultation with the taxi and private hire trades, stakeholders and the public on proposed licensing changes ahead of the ULEZ.
The Mayor and TfL have secured £65m of funding to help taxi drivers achieve a target of 9,000 zero emission capable taxis by 2020. Up to £5,000 will be available to taxi drivers who want to decommission their vehicle once it reaches 10 years of age, with the exact amount depending on the age of the vehicle. As well as this, a £5,000 plug-in car grant is available through the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), to which a £3,000 ‘top-up’ grant can be added. The same OLEV plug-in grant is also available for private hire drivers.
The 15-year age limit for taxis will remain in place, but the decommissioning scheme will encourage cabbies to remove the oldest, most polluting vehicles from the fleet and upgrade to new zero emission capable taxis. The scheme is intended to tackle the problem of air quality in London in an effective and sustainable way, while also taking into account the challenges currently facing the trade.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: “The taxi and minicab trades have a crucial role to play in helping to improve London’s air quality. This is why we have made them a central part of our Ultra Low Emission Zone plans. We understand this will take time and that is why we are giving financial assistance to help clean up these vehicle fleets. The Ultra Low Emission Zone is the most ambitious measure of its kind in the world and we need everyone on board for it to be a success.”
Garrett Emmerson, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer for Surface Transport, said: “It is clear that we need to take significant action to address the problem of poor air quality in London and that transport will need to play a central role. The Ultra Low Emission Zone, which will be introduced in 2020, will be an effective way of improving air quality across the city as a whole. But we are not waiting until then to make major improvements. The measures we are setting out will encourage owners of taxis and minicabs to take action now, and sets a course towards cleaner taxi and private hire trades and a cleaner London.”
