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Electric Black Cabs Hit London's Roads

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday December 05 2017, @09:03PM   Printer-friendly
from the blends-in-with-the-soot dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

BBC:

Electric black taxis have hit London's roads under plans to improve air quality but critics say their cost will put drivers off "going green".

The cab costs £55,599 up from £45,000 for the newest petrol equivalent.

Chris Gubbey, boss of manufacturer the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) insists the cab will "play a major role in helping to improve air quality".

The launch comes weeks ahead of rules requiring new cabs in the capital to be capable of emitting zero emissions.

More than 9,000 such taxis, roughly half the current black cab fleet, are expected on London's roads by 2021.

The £10K price difference should break even in two years of savings on fuel, less if maintenance costs are factored in. But will that make up for lost revenue from fares the cabs can't accept while recharging?

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  • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Wednesday December 06 2017, @12:02AM (4 children)

    by isostatic (365) on Wednesday December 06 2017, @12:02AM (#605902) Journal

    Meh, I'll continue to use uber like normal people. Only rich businessmen use black cabs, it's a way to use the ZiL lanes to get around faster.

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  • (Score: 2) by Hawkwind on Wednesday December 06 2017, @01:29AM (3 children)

    by Hawkwind (3531) on Wednesday December 06 2017, @01:29AM (#605941)
    Huh, I thought Uber was bannded in the UK. Apparently not yet: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uber-still-working-in-london-is-ban-uk-england-legal-transport-not-down-night-bus-a7998436.html [independent.co.uk].

    The app was supposed to be banned from 30 September, according to a ruling from Transport for London. And it technically has.
     
    But that ban doesn't practically go into effect until Uber has exhausted all of its appeal with the regulator. That process might not finish for months – and it could end with Uber successfully having the decision overturned, meaning that the app would never go out of service.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by isostatic on Wednesday December 06 2017, @08:32AM (1 child)

      by isostatic (365) on Wednesday December 06 2017, @08:32AM (#606040) Journal

      UK is bigger than London. This was a political move by Khan in reaction to the takeover of the Labour Party - he lost a lot of support for it.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 06 2017, @08:42PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 06 2017, @08:42PM (#606378)

        Thanks for the correction

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Grishnakh on Wednesday December 06 2017, @03:56PM

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Wednesday December 06 2017, @03:56PM (#606168)

      They should ban Uber but not Lyft, since the people are Uber are a bunch of assholes.