Taxi Driver Online

Licence boost for greener taxi firms




Electric cab ... Alan Ashton of Express Taxis holds the first ever South Tyneside taxi licence plate for an electric vehicle while Coun Jimr Perry looks on.



COUNCIL bosses are offering a cash boost for South Tyneside taxi firms who go green.

South Tyneside Council is the only authority in the region offering free taxi licences to operators who use electric cars as part of their private hire fleet.

The move is part of the council’s commitment to the low carbon agenda, helping to improve air quality and making the borough a cleaner and greener place.

Alan Ashton, owner of Express Taxis in Jarrow, is the first operator to benefit from the innovative scheme, and has been given a free licence – worth £283 a year – for two years for his Nissan Leaf.

He said: “Express Taxis are delighted to be the first taxi operator in the borough of South Tyneside to offer an all-electric vehicle for the benefit of our customers. These vehicles are pollution-free and, as such, friendly to the environment.

“We would like to thank South Tyneside Council and, in particular, the licensing department for the tremendous support in establishing electric vehicles in the borough.”

Presenting Mr Ashton with the first electric taxi licence plate, Coun Jim Perry, the council’s lead member for neighbourhoods and environment said: “This excellent scheme clearly demonstrates the council is working with the trade to encourage and promote use of cleaner-fuelled vehicles.

“Electric and plug-in hybrid cars are a vital part of our low-carbon strategy. This innovation proves that here in South Tyneside we embrace the newest technologies and we are an environmentally-friendly place at the forefront of change and development.

“The council’s licensing service is keen to build on this opportunity to promote the use of electric cars by the trade in the hope other licensees may follow suit.”

South Tyneside has 360 licensed private hire vehicles and 236 hackney carriages. The offer is open to the first five licensees who purchase and licence an electric car.

source: http://www.shieldsgazette.com/news/lice ... _1_3652033

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

Nissan Leaf? Bit small for a licensed vehicle IMO

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

When will they find the time to charge it ? Considering it takes about 12 hours to do a full charge to cover about 100 miles it's all well and good if there's only one driver who can charge when not working, not much use if there's two drivers !

Lets see how many electric cars there are in Tyneside in a years time.

Waste of time IMO due to the charging time and the limit on miles it can do.

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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

Believe me, don't get Mercury X2

I bet the South Tyneside plate barons s*** themselves when they heard that free plates were being issued.

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IDFIMH

Whos the Customer gonna pick...Green walk home Travel....Or....Get you Home Deisel Travel???

Even Jonathon Porritt would use the latter and to hell with the Polar Bears..

Its an Easy way to get a licence...endure 2 years as a leccy lover and Bingo...youve A licence you can Transfer to an Oil Burner...maybe its a Small price to pay after all.

Bloodnock its a Ph so no restriction on licensind

That car was on top gear last week along with a Peugeot both need a 24 hour recharge and I don't know if it was was a wind up but they quoted around £12 to charge it

Bugger..so it is, I must be Colour blind to all things Green.

So buy one of these and do a 3 day week, and dont' get a second driver !!