New efforts to reduce air pollution in Oxford

Oxford City Council is planning to install electric vehicle charging points for taxis and phase out high-emitting hackney cabs in an effort to reduce air pollution.

The City Council is working with City of Oxford Licensed Taxicab Association (COLTA) on the scheme, which will see £500,000 worth of electric vehicle charging points for taxis installed for the exclusive use of hackney and private hire taxis. The aim is to install 19: seven in 2018 and 12 in 2019.

The City Council won £370,000 of funding from the Government’s Office for Low Emissions Vehicles for the project. The aim is to seek the remaining funding from private investment.

The scheme also set out the City Council’s intention to set an age limit on all hackney carriages operating in Oxford of 18 years and require all newly-licensed hackney carriages to be ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in the future.

Latest figures reveal that, despite a 36.9 per cent drop in Oxford city’s air pollution over the last decade, nitrogen dioxide levels are sticking above the legal and safe levels in some streets. It is hoped that the infrastructure and licensing changes will see nitrogen dioxide emissions from Oxford’s 107 licensed hackney carriages reduce by 50 per cent by 2020.

John Tanner, Executive Board Member for a Clean and Green Oxford, said: “Oxford has illegal levels of air pollution in some parts of the city, which is affecting the health of residents. Every vehicle in Oxford is contributing to this major public health emergency.

“We are working with the County Council on plans to introduce a Zero Emission Zone from 2020, which will restrict access to Oxford city centre for emitting vehicles, and will go a long way to getting air pollution below legal limits. This new scheme will provide the electric vehicle charging infrastructure to help get Oxford’s hackney cabs ready for 2020.”