Taxi Driver Online

Council launches process that will see major changes to Liverpool's taxi trade

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... r-15068488

And if drivers don't play ball, they could find themselves banned from driving in the city

Liverpool Council is to begin the process that will see a major change made to how the taxi trade in the city operates.

The authority is planning to get rid of older, dirtier diesel engines in Hackney carriages - as part of its clean air agenda.

The city council currently licences more than 1,400 hackney carriages in Liverpool, several hundred of which have been retro-fitted with older diesel engines.

Under its plan, the ‘retro-fitted’ carriages with older diesel engines would be phased out. Retro-fitting means that the vehicle’s engine is removed and replaced with an earlier model. The older engines are cheaper to run but they also pump out higher levels of harmful Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) into the atmosphere.

If the plan goes ahead, drivers will be given three months to inform the council that they have a retro-fitted cab. Those who do will be given a further five year grace period before the council refuses to licence such vehicles.

Any driver failing to notify the council of a retro-fitted engine could have their licence suspended and any new applications for a licence automatically refused.

Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Air Quality, Cllr James Noakes, said: “Improving air quality in our city is a priority for the council and its partners. Some stretches of the city’s roads exceed the accepted levels of NO2 emissions. hackney carriages with older engines are a cause of this type of pollution and we have set ourselves strict targets to see a reduction in these potentially harmful emissions.”

Nitrogen Dioxide emissions have been linked with a range of respiratory problems. Breathing in higher than accepted levels can aggravate conditions such as asthma, particularly in children and older people.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson has set up a multi-agency task force which ls considering a range of measures to reduce the levels of NO2 and other pollutants in the atmosphere.

As well as phasing out retro-fitting engines, the group is looking at plans for more electric vehicle charging points, a campaign to encourage more people to walk or cycle for shorter journeys and a plan to reduce traffic congestion.

Cllr Noakes added: “If we want our city to have clean and clearer air for future generations then doing nothing simply isn’t an option. The plans are still at an early stage but before we move forward we want to know what members of the hackney carriage trade think about them.

"Ultimately any decision about improving air quality through removing retro-fitted engines would be taken by the council’s cabinet. We need to get everyone’s views on this issue so we can make an informed decision. We are writing to all hackney carriage drivers who are licensed in the city and I would urge them to fill in the survey and give us their views.”

Hackney carriage drivers have until Sunday September 30 to complete the survey.

For more information on air quality in Liverpool visit the council’s website: www.liverpool.gov.uk and search for ‘air quality’.

So this means *hundreds* of current Liverpool HCs have engines *older* than the original unit fitted to the vehicle?

I find that hard to believe.

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Grandad,

I can’t see there being that many either. Tx1 engine into the tx2 (or metro cab) was done quite a lot. Not sure if I’ve ever heard of it being put into the tx4. That means even a late model (2006) tx2 with this ‘swap’ is 12 years old now and with the 5 year grace that’ll make it 17 years old by then, time for a change I would have thought ?

would it really save money swapping engines after the expense of the retrofit I would have thought savings would be marginal

unless worn out engines are being replaced with older engines from the scrapyard to save the cost of a reconditioned replacement

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

its not about saving money
the ford unit was a POS
the nissan unit was indestructible
its purely about reliability
the ford was 1/10
nissan 10/10

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left

A couple of years back the local council got some DfT funding to convert some older engines to run cleaner and more economical.

The cost of all this equated to about the new cost of a vehicle, in short it was f***ing madness.

Converting old motors is a waste of time. Subsidizing new motors isn't.

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IDFIMH

The council is probably on about the older tx1 Nissan engine into the tx2 ford .The Nissan being more reliable and the tx2 ford being iffy .tx1 was the best but, was more dirty that's why mechanics turned the pump down to get it thru the emissions test.it was swapped a lot in Sheffield.

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

So what about the planes that take off from John Lennon airport that emit more pollution than 100 taxis per take off?

And the F*cking big cruise liners that are unloading at the pierhead......right in the middle of Liverpool.

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Justice for the 96. It has only taken 27 years...........repeat the same lies for 27 years and the truth sounds strange to people!

cos taxis are an easier target
along with the trendy treehugging eco friendly councillors not wanting to be pushed off that lovely gravy train

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left

is the correct answer

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i started out with nothing and ive still got most of it left