LONDON

Regulators Transport for London (TfL), have recognised that there have been delays with LPG conversions being completed prior to the November deadline through no fault of vehicle owners.

Sources are suggesting that TfL will now consider applications for a 20 year exemption on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants providing evidence that they made a booking and paid a deposit for a conversion the ‪1 November‬, WOULD now qualify for a 20 year age limit exemption. Drivers must then have the conversion completed within a 3 month period following ‪the 1 November‬ deadline.

According to Autogas Limited, a UK wide company that specialises in turning diesel taxis into LPG green machines, the fuel helps reduce Particulate Matter by 99% and cut NOx by 80%. Whilst LPG offers less drastic changes to CO2 emissions, a reduction of 7% respectively, the taxis converted to LPG would meet Euro 6 vehicle standards. This would mean all taxis would meet the current strict emission rulings despite their age.

Further benefits highlighted by the firm include a low initial investment (it costs roughly £10,000 to convert) as taxi drivers can keep their existing vehicle, lower maintenance costs compared to the diesel, and also substantial 20-30% lower fuel costs.

Autogas also claim that transition from diesel to LPG is made easier by the robust existing refuelling infrastructure and offers a 300 – 400 mile driving range. 

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 Liverpool’s taxi and private hire licensing officers had a busy Saturday night clamping down on several rogue minicabs.


Licensing Enforcement Officers dealt with a number of private hire issues ranging from parking on taxi ranks, incorrect licence plate fittings and illegally worn tyres.

According to Liverpool City Council (LCC) Licensing, a Sefton minicab driver was found parked on a Liverpool taxi rank, with its licence plate not fixed to the vehicle correctly.

A Liverpool private hire vehicle (PHV) was found working in the early hours with two illegal front tyres. The minicab was suspended and the driver is to be reported.

Two further PHV’s were stopped for issues surrounding the display of their licence plate.

Last month it was revealed that LCC have issued in excess of 1,800 parking fines to vehicles that have blocked taxi ranks in less than two years. 
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 ROCHDALE

An initiative in the borough of Rochdale has shown huge cost savings await taxi firms that switch to electric vehicles.

Rochdale Borough Council’s licensing team engaged the services of Electric Blue to understand the practical and financial impact of introducing electric vehicles to the private hire and taxi trade.

Drivers at three private hire operators and five independent taxi proprietors took part in the EVolve project. Their vehicles were fitted with telematics devices for one month which captured their routes and stopping points and calculated the running costs of their current vehicles.

The results showed that drivers would save almost 66% on their current running costs by converting to an electric vehicle. On average their costs would reduce from £6,188 to £2,201 if they switched to an electric vehicle and the saving would generate an extra £45,000 income across 21 vehicles.

The results also showed that 99.9% of all shifts could be completed in an electric vehicle with just one rapid charge top up for less than 30 minutes needed.

Michael Hare, owner of Middleton Cars and participant in the project, said: “The industry is going towards electric so we were keen to take this opportunity to find out what the future might look like for us and the reductions in running costs look really promising.

“We’ve got 38 cars so the cost of purchasing electric vehicles is a current barrier. We’ve already got a few hybrids and we need the whole industry to get on board with electric so the range of vehicles improves and vehicle prices come down.”

The analysis was conducted as part of the council’s commitment to improving the environment and air quality, making the borough a cleaner place to work and live. The borough is working with other Greater Manchester local authorities to reduce air pollution and emissions from transport through the development of the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan.

Councillor Sara Rowbotham, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “We know that switching to electric vehicles will have a huge impact on our air quality and wider environment.

“It’s great that this analysis has shown substantial benefits for businesses in making the switch and that the long term benefits will be felt by those in the trade for years to come. Our region now needs to see the right financial support from central government to support all taxi drivers to make changes in the coming years.”

Individual reports have been provided to the firms that took part to demonstrate the feasibility of converting to electric and ultra-low emission vehicles.

To find out more about Greater Manchester’s proposals to clean up the air, and how the public and businesses can play their part, visit: