Cabbies for Clean Air
Cabbies for Clean Air The UK’s first ever National Clean Air Day aims to improve public understanding of air pollution. Taxi drivers
have a unique place in the air pollution situation. They are exposed to high levels of air pollution throughout their working day, as drivers are exposed to up to twice as much air pollution as pedestrians and nine
times more than a cyclist. Their vehicles are also a significant source of air pollution in UK cities and their livelihoods depend on flowing traffic and manageable costs of driving. Taxi drivers provide an important
service for our communities and the industry needs to find ways to move away from more polluting petrol and diesel models of cars and towards less polluting vehicles such as LPG or electric.
We spoke to 19 taxi drivers in London, Southampton and Glasgow about what they know about air pollution, what concerned them, what some of the barriers were for them to move towards less polluting vehicles and what they felt some of the solutions could be. In addition to this report, a short film has been made showing taxi drivers addressing these questions in their own words. The 3 key themes that emerged from drivers in all three cities are: 1. Taxi drivers are concerned about air pollution and want to be part of the solution 2. There are some key barriers to a swift transition to cleaner vehicles 3. They are keen to work with local authorities to find transport policies that clean up the air and work well for all road users
1. Taxi drivers are very concerned about air pollution and want to be part of the solution. Drivers were worried about the health impacts to themselves and to the people in their communities, particularly children. UNITE leaders expressed concern about air pollution as a workplace health and safety issue for their drivers. They were very worried about their drivers sitting in heavily polluted air for 8 to 12 hours a day. All drivers were fully supportive of a transition to cleaner vehicles, whether to electric or LPG models, and many non-black cab drivers were already driving hybrid vehicles. However there are key barriers to this transition happening quickly. “As a father of two young children I would like my children to grow up in a world where air pollution is something that’s not going to affect their health” Steven Grant, Secretary at UNITE and Glasgow taxi driver “There’s more kids nowadays being diagnosed in their early years with asthma, and they’re the future, let’s stop it before it’s too late, not just in Glasgow, not just in Scotland but in the whole of Britain” Hugh Murray, Glasgow taxi driver
“I have to do up my window because the fumes are actually choking me” Teresa Johnson, London taxi driver “London taxis obviously contribute to the emissions problem in London with NOx and particulates and we have to accept that we are part of the problem. We fully support initiatives to go to electric or zero emission capable vehicles but this has to be done alongside schemes that can help taxi drivers” Peter Bond, London taxi driver and Senior Union Rep at UNITE
2. Key Barriers to a swift transition to cleaner vehicles Cost - The current cost for a new diesel black cab vehicle is around £45,000 - £47,000 and the estimated cost of the new electric model is likely to be at least £60,000. This price was seen as unaffordable to cab drivers in all cities. Subsidy schemes so far have not gone nearly far enough and need to at least enable drivers to buy electric cabs at the same price they can currently buy diesel vehicles. Where this doesn’t happen, drivers will end up buying more polluting models even though they’d prefer not to. In areas where policies were being brought into force them to buy only the new electric models, there was a fear of many drivers being forced to leave the industry as it would become unaffordable to invest so much money up front.
Cabbies for Clean Air “The only electric vehicle that we can have access to is looking at prices of over £60,000 and on a present scale, it’s not affordable” George Kelly, Glasgow taxi driver “My particular company has over 20% hybrids. We’ve offered a financial incentive to our members to put hybrids on. It’s down to incentives” Clive Johnson, Chairman Radio Taxis and the Southampton Trade Association
Charging infrastructure, charging times and range of vehicles - All groups stressed the need for a better charging infrastructure before the cities would be able to cope with electric vehicles. There was also concern that electric models would not be able to travel the distances needed to get passengers home. This was a particular concern for airport taxi drivers who often take passengers on long distances. They also feared that charging times of around 25 minutes are too long and wouldn’t work for the trade. They were hopeful that the technology would improve quickly to make electric vehicles a more feasible option in the future but didn’t feel it was quite there yet. “With regards to electric vehicles, at the moment we don’t think the distance, the miles that they do, the amount of charging that they need, is at the moment suitable for a taxi and the distances that taxis do travel” Chris Elder, Dundee taxi driver “You can’t just have charging at peoples houses because people live in tower blocks and so there has to be a a proper charging infrastructure around the country” Steve Fricker, UNITE representative and Southampton taxi driver
Clarity and assurances on which are the least polluting models - All groups wanted clarity of which emissions are harmful and which vehicles have the lowest emissions on all harmful emissions. There was fear that they could invest in what they think is a cleaner vehicle only to find out that in a few years time the emissions standards change and suddenly their clean vehicle is considered a polluting vehicle. The taxi trade need clear guidance about harmful emissions, recommendations on the cleanest vehicles and support to buy them.
3. Consult the taxi trade to find transport policies that clean up the air and work well for all road users Taxi drivers and unions want to engage in open dialogue with local authorities at an early stage to discuss policies that affect them and other road users. They know where the problems arise and are well placed to help come up with sensible solutions that make life better for all road users. They would like to be consulted on where charging points should be located, where ranks should be located, changes to roads e.g new cycle and bus lanes. They stressed that consulting them at an early stage of the decision making processes is vital and would save a lot of problems and disputes further down the line. There was a lot of concern about the sheer numbers of vehicles on the roads and the recent increase in the numbers of private hire vehicles. They were very supportive of schemes to improve cycling and use of public transport, but want policies for taxis to be considered as part of this holistic infrastructure. They also highlighted the problems caused by neighbouring local authorities having different transport policies, which made rules confusing for drivers and often shifted problems to neighbouring boroughs without solving them. “If someone wants to implement an idea then work alongside the taxi trade so we can actually be the solution and not a problem” Stuart Hope, London taxi driver “We see licensing as having a very important role, we have got currently 3500 private hire cars on the roads in the city, that’s 1000 increase in 18 months” Steven Grant, Secretary at UNITE and Glasgow taxi driver “What we need is the boroughs working together, with TFL and with the taxi trade, because there’s nobody who knows the roads better than us. Let’s get London moving, because moving traffic is less polluting” Peter Rose, Secretary of the London Cab Rank Committee and Senior UNITE Representative