Abandoned car sat at taxi rank for days while LEZ-compliant tow truck was found
An abandoned car was left at the city’s Central Station taxi rank for four days – because the council’s LEZ-compliant vehicle-lifting truck was unavailable.
I received a ULEZ fine . . . but my car was in Ukraine at the time
Taxi drivers and thousands of other motorists receive fines and charges for entering congestion and emissions zones.
Why it could be the end of the road for hundreds of cabbies
With taxi drivers struggling to afford vehicles that meet new emissions regulations – and forking out hundreds of pounds to fix damage caused by potholes – it is no surprise that many cabbies in one city have had enough.
Should Private Hire Vehicles be allowed to use bus lanes?
As one authority moves towards letting private hire drivers use a bus lane on a busy route, we look at why they aren’t allowed to use them in the first place, and what happens to drivers who ignore the rules.
Taxi drivers are switching off to help cut pollution
A city which is cutting pollution without charging motorists to use its busiest streets is now calling on taxi drivers to switch off their engines whenever they are parked.
Greener vehicles could be the key to city’s Clean Air Zone, not charging
Manchester’s Clean Air Zone plan could see millions of pounds made available for greener taxis and commercial vehicles, while no one will be charged or fined for driving on the region’s roads in older, more polluting vehicles.
Huge public backlash led the region’s leaders to do a U-turn over the original plans.
Will commuters turn to e-scooters instead of taxis?
The journey to work seems to get worse each day and commuters are trying to find new ways to beat the queues, with one in five turning to e-scooters instead of taxis and their own cars. This could be good news for the drive to reduce emissions and improve air quality.
Top five private hire taxis
As we continue the drive towards cutting pollution, a vehicle’s green credentials are top of the list for taxi drivers when it’s time to change their cabs.
While their new vehicle has to be suited to private-hire taxi work, its emissions are now just as important to drivers as the amount of room for passengers and luggage.
Reading’s five-year plan to ban petrol and diesel taxis
Taxi drivers have had their say on plans to ban petrol and diesel cabs in Reading from 2028.
Consultation on Reading Borough Council’s Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Strategy 2023-28 ended recently, with one of the main goals being to “phase out the use of petrol and diesel-only cars and vehicles in an effort to improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions”.
Taxi age changes are a ‘lifeline’ to city’s drivers
Buying a car is a huge financial undertaking that requires years of planning and saving by taxi drivers.
Many factor in the cost of replacing their vehicles every 10 years – or the maximum time allowed by their licensing authority.
Taxi driver has 1k fines wiped after CAZ errors
A taxi driver who wrongly received eight Clean Air Zone penalty charges has received an apology from a council after fines totalling almost £1,000 were cancelled.
Abdul Raheem is one of a number of taxi drivers who have complained to Sheffield City Council that they received the penalty charges, even though their vehicles meet emissions standards or were exempt from the scheme at the time.
Taxi drivers’ fears over ULEZ expansion
Drivers of older, more-polluting vehicles in central London have had to pay the Congestion Charge, Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and/or Low Emission Zone (LEZ) charges, which has already had an impact on professionals such as taxi drivers.
But from today, the ULEZ scheme has been expanded to include the whole of Greater London within the M25 – adding a further 5 million people.