London cab service to axe diesels for PEV by end of 2018
Private hire company Green Tomato Cars wants to electrify its entire fleet by the end of 2018. The move comes in the wake of the Ultra Low Emission Zone in the British capital that will rule all vehicles from 2019.
The cab company with an eco-focus says it wants to replace all its diesels with electric and hybrid models before the end of 2018 and ahead of the roll-out of the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London. The latter requires all cabs to be able to drive electrically.
Green Tomato Cars however had started on the path of low and zero emission vehicles as early as 2014 when it attempted to introduce 20 e6 electric cabs from BYD. London’s lack of infrastructure later led them to call the deal off but since then the provider integrated Toyota Mirai fuel cell cars to its fleet (we reported).
The 600-strong fleet of the operator consists to 50 percent of Toyota hybrids anyway and co-founder Jonny Goldstone told Fleet World that nowadays “there are a lot more EV charging points than HFC stations” for the Mirai, so other electric vehicles like the Hyundai Ioniq and Tesla Model S can be booked via the homepage as well.
Green Tomato Cars is making its move at a time when transport in London is changing. Not only the ULEZ forces companies to clean up their offering but also Transport for London has tightened its rules. In its latest move, it revoked Uber’s license, threatening to leave a huge gap in the market for private hire vehicles in the British capital also known as the Big Smoke.
Only on December, 5th Londoners were reminded that exactly 65 years ago, the city almost suffocated from toxic fumes . Known as the Great London Smog, it prompted the Churchill government to introduce the first Clean Air Act.
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