City of Bradford EV taxi grants open for applications
The West Yorkshire city, which launched a Clean Air Zone earlier this year, is offering grants to cover running Hackney Carriage or private hire running costs.
Of the 4,800 licensed taxis currently operating within the authority’s boundaries, 99% already meet the minimum requirements of the low emission zone, ranking as the UK’s cleanest fleet. Even so, a recent survey revealed that two-thirds of registered drivers are considering switching to a fully-electric model.
To support this, the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council has announced a new funding stream helping with associated costs. To be eligible, applicants must choose to buy an EV Hackney Carriage or an EV suitable for private hire, or take out a long-term lease running for no less than two years from the grant being signed and returned.
Those who have already upgraded to compliant models, including hybrids, can also apply for a top up grant to convert to fully electric. £10,000 is now available for both non-wheelchair accessible and wheelchair accessible vehicles. Applications are now open, and full details can be found here.
Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Executive Member for Healthy People and Places at Bradford Council, says: ‘We recognise that there is a desire from the taxi trade to switch to fully electric vehicles. We want to further support the taxi trade by offering up to £10,000 per vehicle in grant funding to assist proprietors with the running costs of a fully electric hackney carriage or private hire vehicle. This is the highest grant of this type in the UK.’
More on EVs:
£1bn fund for UK EV network expansion closed for three years
Image: blowup