Vehicle Innovations

Cutting pollution and making motoring cleaner are vital for the environment and people’s health, so it makes sense to encourage taxi drivers and other professional drivers who spend more time on the road, to make the switch.

But they will only move away from petrol and diesel vehicles if they can find a reliable and affordable electric alternative.

Ride-hailing founder Uber is following its rivals with plans to launch adverts in and on its taxis.

In trials in its home city of San Francisco and in Los Angeles, Uber is using tablets in its private hire taxis to show adverts to passengers. And with valuable data at its fingertips, Uber’s advertising proposition has the potential to land global brands.

A recent cyber attack at Uber reveals that keeping technology safe and secure is as important as taxi drivers getting passengers to their destination safely.

Following the data breach last month, in a bid to reassure staff, drivers and customers that its systems and data are secure, Uber has released details of the hack and how the firm reacted to stop the breach and improve security.

Some people see driverless taxis as the future, while to others, they are nothing more than a hi-tech gimmick. But ultimately, it is the passengers who will decide their fate as they have to feel safe and comfortable using the hi-tech taxi.

Whether or not the novelty wears off, there has been plenty of investment into autonomous vehicles and driverless taxis are currently being trialled in America.

One of England’s oldest taxi businesses is steering its way towards an all-electric fleet of taxis.

Whiteside Taxis in St Annes on Sea started with Handsome Cabs in 1880 and has seen many changes in the years that followed. But, as with the transition from Handsome Cabs to the Hackney and private-hire taxis we are familiar with today, it did not happen overnight.

Technology is constantly improving and there are now more high-tech ways to connect taxi drivers with passengers.

As well as ride-hailing apps such as Uber and, more recently, Bolt, many UK taxi businesses have introduced their own technology to make it easier for passengers to book and pay for journeys.

Rising fuel and energy prices are affecting everyone, especially taxi drivers and those who earn their living on the roads – but they can still save money by plugging in instead of filling up.

As fuel prices have continued to rise, and with the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles in the UK from 2030, many taxi drivers have been turning to electric vehicles for a cheaper, greener alternative.

Roads and traffic can change in an instant and taxi drivers need to be on top of their game to reach and drop off passengers safely and on time.

There are many sat-navs and navigational apps to help drivers reach their destination, as well as trying to avoid long delays in traffic.

Improving technology has changed the way most people think about driving. A lot of the focus has been on electric vehicles and the drive to steer us all towards a greener future.

There have also been advances on driver assistance tools, such as cruse control, lane assistance, adaptive braking, self-parking and, more recently, autonomous vehicles.

Flying cars and flying taxis might seem more science fiction than real world, but they could be just around the corner.

An entrepreneur in California says air taxis could be up and running ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, helping beat the city’s chronic traffic jams.

Rising prices at the pumps continue to fuel the UK’s surging cost of living – but there could be some good news around the corner.

It is difficult to escape the rising cost of living. Businesses including taxis drivers and taxi fleets have seen immediate and sharp rises in the cost of fuel for their vehicles, as well as their own household bills rising.

Range is one of the biggest obstacles stopping drivers making the switch to electric vehicles but wireless charging could change that.

You can currently travel further on a tank of petrol or diesel in a typical family car than you can in a comparable EV – that also costs more – with a fully charged battery.