PLANS to make Reading’s taxis greener by phasing out polluting vehicles have been delayed.
Reading Borough Council’s licensing committee considered phasing out older cabs at a meeting held on Tuesday, February 1.
The council wants to reduce emissions and improve air quality, under the Hackney Carriage Vehicle Emissions and Age Policy, which was established in October 2019.
Its aim is to have all cabs as ultra low emission vehicles (ULEV) by 2028.
The plan was paused due to the pandemic, and last week’s meeting saw this extended.
Asif Rashid, chairman of Reading Taxi Association appealed for the delay to be extended, which would mean 15 vehicles registered in 2011-12 could still be used until October 2024.
Cllr Tony Page (Labour, Abbey) pointed out that business has significantly dropped due to the pandemic.
Cllr Jeannette Skeats, the Conservative opposition leader and representative for Thames ward, said: “Clearly the council’s policy is to reduce emissions, which is right and proper.
“This is an exception for our drivers who do face hardship.”
There was a feeling that a line needed to be ‘drawn in the sand’ for the phasing out of older taxis.
Cllr Adele Barnett-Ward (Labour, Caversham), said: “We don’t want to come back every year with the same appeal for an extension.”
There are currently two ULEV cabs in Reading’s taxi fleet.
Cllr Barnett-Ward’s arguments were questiobed by Cllr Skeats, who said there was future uncertainty over the possibility of more lockdowns.
It was noted that the number of taxi trips had declined by 40% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Cllr Brenda McGonigle (Green, Park) suggested that taxi drivers should stop idling their engines to reduce the emissions their cars produce.
Cllr Page lamented the lack of government grant funding to help taxi drivers in Reading upgrade their cabs, something that had been made available in London and Manchester.
He said: “At the moment, we’re expecting the trade to upgrade their vehicles entirely on their own.”
The committee agreed to pause the policy for until October 2023, with the six most polluting vehicles taken off the road in October this year.
The committee will conduct a review in September, and write to the Government to request grant funding.
