APPENDIX C – EMISSIONS SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
1.1 The Licensing Authority has liaised with the Council’s Spelthorne Climate Team. They have advised that
(a) Spelthorne has adopted and is working towards its electric vehicle infrastructure strategy that is prioritising the development of rapid charge points within council owned carparks. Additionally, Surrey County Council is carrying out the development of its on street ChargePoint network which will include thousands of charge points across Surrey.
(b) Below is a Map of all active charge points in and around Spelthorne (the below does not include people’s own private ones):
The colour inside the charge point markers illustrates the maximum power rating of the charge point.
- Light yellow = Slow (below 8kW)
- Golden yellow = Fast (8–49kW)
- Pink = Rapid (50-149kW)
- Purple = Ultra Rapid (150kW and above)
- Grey = Unknown speed
The circle alongside the marker indicates the status of the charge point.
- Green = Some, or all chargers available
- Blue = Charging
- Red = Out of service
- Grey = Status unknown
(c) The Department for Transport best practice guidance document, section 8.6 on environmental considerations states the following:
“Licensing teams should work with council colleagues with air quality and climate responsibilities to ensure taxi and private hire vehicle fleets play their part in work to tackle local emissions. Leading areas cite large-scale change in these fleets needs a longer-term strategy, with a coordinated approach across council teams and local trades, that considers licencing requirements, other supportive policies (for example, try-before-you-buy scheme), and, in the context of moving to a fully zero emission vehicle fleet, a strategy for supporting the installation of electric vehicle charge points. “
(d) Below are a few examples of other councils making the decision to licence only to ultra-low emission vehicles and zero emission vehicles:
· Bristol City Council in 2017 mandated that new licences would only be granted to ultra-low emission vehicles and electric vehicles.
· Reading Borough Council is requiring all taxi or private hire vehicles to be electric or hybrid by 2028.
· Cambridge Council has removed the licence fee for zero emission taxis since 2018.
· Surrey County Council is encouraging and supporting the transition to electric taxis in districts and boroughs through grant schemes.
Ride share platforms such as UBER have their own climate change policies that have committed to 100% electrification of their platform and fleet by 2040. With the majority of European cities to be serviced by electrified vehicles by 2030. Therefore, any policy that aligns with electrification of Taxis will be inline with the industry. [1]
Table 1 below provides a summary of the number of driver and vehicle licences issued each year between January 2019 to October 2024. (Note that driver’s licenses can range from a duration 1-year to 3-years and Vehicles could be changed if e.g. accidents and changes of cars).
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
Total |
|
|
Hackney Carriage Driver |
66 |
61 |
48 |
58 |
43 |
26 |
302 |
|
Private Hire Driver |
77 |
54 |
33 |
40 |
30 |
18 |
252 |
|
Total |
143 |
115 |
81 |
98 |
73 |
44 |
554 |
|
Hackney Carriage Vehicle |
54 |
53 |
40 |
50 |
51 |
35 |
283 |
|
Private Hire Vehicle |
70 |
53 |
39 |
41 |
42 |
36 |
281 |
|
Total |
124 |
106 |
79 |
91 |
93 |
71 |
564 |
1.2 There has been a decline in drivers and vehicles from 2019. This would be due to a variety of reasons, including retirement, ill-health, financial, and policy requirements.
1.3 Should the number of vehicles and drivers decline in Spelthorne due to changes in our policy on vehicles it may lead to:
(a) Poor availability of drivers/vehicles
(b) No availability of drivers/vehicles either at all, or at times people require a vehicle
(c) Increase of waiting time for a vehicle
(d) Detrimental to disabled wheelchair provision of vehicles
(e) Increased cost to the public and wait for a vehicle to come from out of Spelthorne
1.4 The Licensing Authority notes the Governments current plans that from 2035 all new cars on the market must be zero emission. However, the Government acknowledged there are still significant barriers to the transition including vehicle costs, charging infrastructure, and consumer scepticism. Further information can be found in the House of Commons Library.[2]
1.5 It is proposed to remove from the draft policy the requirement for new vehicles to be fully electric from 1 October 2028. However, when the policy is reviewed the Licensing Authority will consider all available information on electric vehicles and infrastructure in Spelthorne and a public consultation will be carried out if the policy needs to be amended. The wording has been amended in the draft policy accordingly.
Strategic Sources:
Promoting Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEVs) policy area - Surrey County Council (surreycc.gov.uk)
Electric Vehicle Taxi transition | Local Government Association
https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/sustainable-driving/electric-vehicles#about
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy 2023 -2030 - Spelthorne Borough Council