Cabbies in Canterbury district fear for livelihoods if ban on ‘polluting’ taxis imposed
Among the concerned taxi drivers are, from left, Will Thomas, 59, Abe Housein, 58, Mustafa Ustabas, 42 and Mondi Asllanaj, 44A city council ban on taxis ‘polluting’ the district’s streets could see hundreds forced off the road this summer.
The local authority is phasing out diesel and petrol vehicles as it strives towards having only electric cabs by 2030.
But the next step of the plan is causing most concern, and has left drivers in the Canterbury district fearing for their livelihoods.
Because from August, the authority will refuse to license any taxi failing to meet the latest emission standards - known as Euro 6.
The rules, which are set to be enforced in August, will affect all Euro 5 vehicles, which are predominantly petrol and diesel cabs registered before 2015, and pump out more toxic fumes.
Abe Housein, 58, who has been a cabbie for 24 years, has described the changes as “too scary to think about”.
To replace his eight-seater Fiat Scudo - which is Euro 5 and was registered in 2014 - with a suitable electric equivalent would cost him anywhere between £30,000 and £100,000.
He says one model he test drove, which retails at £73,500, did not even cover the 200 miles he does a day on one charge.
As a result, he believes having to fork out for a new car would make the job unviable.
“It would put me on the dole,” said the dad-of-three, who says drivers can earn as little as £30 a day, but sometimes more than £100.
“I’ve never been on it (the dole) at 58 years old but I don’t have tens of thousands floating around to buy an electric taxi that doesn’t even do the job that I want.
“I could drive a smaller car but it doesn’t benefit my work because I would lose my school run and the families.
“The financial impact is too scary to think about.”
The city council wants the district’s entire taxi fleet to be either electric or hybrid by 2025, and 100% electric by 2030.
But cabbies say the target dates are “ridiculous” and should be delayed until more charging points are installed, and vehicles become more affordable and practical for taxi work.
Mr Housein said: “We don’t even have enough charging points. If we went out and bought electric taxis now, we’d be in big trouble. We don’t even have the infrastructure yet.
“They put a charging point at the front of the taxi rank. The wire doesn’t even reach the charging point of one guy’s car. He has his own wire but you’re not allowed to link them together.
“You would think you would come out and check this.”
There are currently two charging points at both the Canterbury Lane and St George’s Lane taxi ranks, and another in the Maynard Road car park for private hire vehicles.
The council is not able to provide exact figures for the number of taxis that could be affected by this summer’s changes.
But little more than three years ago, 92% of the 502 licensed vehicles in the district failed to meet the Euro 6 standard.
Taxi driver Mondi Asllanaj, 44, had to replace his Euro 5 car with a Euro 6 VW Caddy following a collision last summer.
“I couldn’t buy the same car so I had to buy another, which cost me £19,000,” he said.
“In three years’ time it will be the end of the licence (for the VW Caddy), because I will then have to get a hybrid or an electric car.”
Mr Asllanaj has concerns about his livelihood because of the city council’s plans.
“I’m really worried because I have a mortgage and two young kids - it’s not easy,” the Canterbury resident added.
Mustafa Ustabas, 42, says he will have to replace his car this year as it is Euro 5.
“I am struggling to find one,” he said. “Even the second-hand car market is quite high at the moment.
“There is nothing out there for me that’s less than £20,000.”
Richard Williams, who has been a taxi driver since 1986, says electric vehicles are not an option “at the moment”.
“You can get vehicles with a 250-mile range on them but they still take 45 minutes to charge up, so it’s not really a possibility,” said the 60-year-old, who drives a 2014 Volkswagen Passat.
“We could work around it and get a charging point at home, which costs about £800, but it is a massive expense.”
“You can get vehicles with a 250-mile range on them but they still take 45 minutes to charge up..."
A spokesman for Canterbury City Council says the authority is already considering whether the timetable for the changes needs to be amended.
“Tackling climate change and cutting pollution to improve air quality around the district are key priorities for the council, and requiring taxi drivers to do their bit as quickly as possible is really important,” he said.
“We listened carefully to the taxi trade when introducing this policy and promised to keep it under constant review because it depended on charging points being in place and how advanced electric vehicles had become by the time it was due to be implemented, especially how far they could travel on a single charge.
“We are already considering whether the timetable needs amending in light of all of these factors. If licence holders have a clear view on a timetable they can deliver on, we would be keen to hear from them. This is an issue that is not going away so we need to work together to tackle it head on.”
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