Not quite as messy as the Staffs stuff, but still far from straightforward.
And, as is almost
always the case with stuff like
any aspect of vehicle spec, it's not clear from this whether it'll apply only to new plates and substitutions on same plate, or whether existing vehicles will be useable until a later date.
(No doubt it's clear enough in the official council papers, but that particular detail is usually lost in press reportage...)
However, unlike the Staffs stuff, this does acknowledge the point that any policy could be undermined by cross-border working.
Which was, in fact, also acknowledged in the Staffs report, but it simply stated that cross-border cars wouldn't be affected by any new Staffs policy, while it didn't state specifically that that could affect incentives regarding
where drivers would go to to get plates.
And which points to another big unknown among the other unknowns and uncertainties outlined below - what does the future hold for cross-border working?
Taxi drivers in South Cambridgeshire due to be given until 2030 to switch to greener vehicleshttps://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/ ... 2-9433231/Taxi drivers in South Cambridgeshire are expected to be given until 2030 to change to using a zero or ultra-low emission vehicle.The district council’s current policy states that drivers of all hackney carriage and private hire vehicles must make the switch no later than December 1, 2028.
But after hearing from drivers about the impact of the cost of living and their ability to afford new cars, it is considering extending the deadline by two years, subject to a review in 2027.
A consultation found 482 taxi drivers supported the extension and only 32 did not.
Officers told councillors on a licensing committee this month that extending the deadline would be acknowledgement of the “challenges” in building the charging infrastructure capacity in the district, and the existing economic pressures on the taxi trade.
Officers also said there is a chance that not extending the deadline could still lead to no overall reduction in carbon emissions from taxi vehicles in the district, as they said drivers who did not want to comply could register with another council and still operate in South Cambridgeshire.
Some councillors pointed out that CambridgeCity Council has plans to restrict access to the centre of the city to ultra-low and zero emission taxis in 2028.
It was noted that even if the district council extended its own deadline, this change would stop drivers with non-compliant vehicles going into the city centre.
Officers said it would be for individual drivers to decide whether they complied with those requirements but if they could not work in the city they could still work elsewhere.
Cllr Jose Hales (Lib Dem, Melbourn) noted that with local government reorganisation planned, meaning that existing councils could be abolished and replaced by 2028, many things were “up in the air at the moment” so it might be best to maintain the existing deadline.
But Cllr Judith Rippeth (Lib Dem, Milton and Waterbeach) said the council was still able to make decisions and a lot had changed since the 2028 deadline was introduced, including the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
Cllr Rippeth said while climate change was “still happening” and it was ‘regrettable’ to extend the deadline, she supported the delay in light of the “bigger picture”.
Cllr Annika Osborne (Lib Dem, Cottenham) said if the situation changed they could still decide during the 2027 review to bring the requirements into force in 2028.
Cllr Anna Bradnam (Lib Dem, Milton and Waterbeach) believed it was important to listen to the views of the taxi drivers and backed the delay until 2030.
Councillors agreed to recommend that the lead cabinet member for environmental services and licensing should approve the two-year deadline extension, subject to a review in 2027.
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