Cabbies to get clean air cash for new cars

Taxi drivers have been urged to apply for grants

More than £4m raised by Bradford's Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is being offered to local taxi drivers to help them switch to electric vehicles.

Bradford Council said licensed operators could apply for grants of up to £10,000 to buy or lease fully electric cabs.

The CAZ, which started in September 2022, generated almost £4.5m in charges and fines in its first six months.

The grant funding would be allocated on a first come, first served basis, the council said.

Some taxi drivers said there were not enough charging points for the scheme to work

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “We recognise that there is a desire from the taxi trade to switch to fully electric vehicles.

"This is the highest grant of this type in the UK.”

The council said a recent taxi trade survey in the Bradford district showed that more than two thirds (67.6%) of the respondents were thinking about driving a fully electric Hackney Carriage or private hire vehicle.

However, one taxi drivers' group in Bradford said that "it's not going to work".

Mohammed Fiaz Suleman, chair of Bradford Hackney Carriage Taxi Trade Association, said: "There are no charging points on the ranks, it won't work".

Mr Suleman said he would not be applying for a grant.

The clean air charge applies to taxis, lorries and vans that do not meet emission standards, but drivers of private cars and motorbikes do not need to pay.

The daily fees for commercial vehicles entering the area range from £7 to £50 and those that do not pay can be fined £120 plus the original fee.

Some business owners have said it has caused confusion among customers and added to price rises.