To progress the City Council’s electric vehicle charging for taxis project.  

The Director for Sustainable City submitted a report which sought project approval to spend capital funding of £370k granted by the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). The funding is to deliver electric vehicle charging points for Hackney Carriages and Private Hire vehicles operating in Oxford. Further funding may be available depending on degree of uptake of ultra-low emission taxis. The total project value may therefore exceed £500k in total.

Cllr John Tanner, Board Member for A Clean, Green Oxford presented the report. At a time of austerity, it was particularly gratifying to have secured government funds to contribute to the introduction of this scheme.  The development of a network of rapid charging points would mean that Oxford taxis  would be leading the way in the introduction of cleaner and cheaper transport in the City. A meeting with taxi drivers was being arranged and while the costs of new electric vehicles was greater than for others, the running costs were significantly less.

Cllr Rowley noted the significant increase in the proportion of diesel  vehicles over the last decade and  anything  that  contributed to a reduction in consequent pollution levels was very welcome.

The Executive Director for Community Services  said that the taxi trade sought certainty and timetables for implementation. They understood that cabs would be more expensive but want to know when the proposal was going ahead. This was a matter that had been discussed for some time so the present scheme was very welcome.

Cllr Hollingsworth asked about the distinction between Hackney Carriages and private cabs for this purpose. The scheme was primarily aimed at Hackney Carriages but Cllr Tanner said that the meeting referred to above was with all taxi providers.  He noted that an increasing number of private hire vehicles  were either  already electric or  hybrid.

The Board thanked officers for their effective work at bringing the scheme to this point.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.    Grant project approval for the electric vehicle charging for taxis project referred to in this report;

2.    Delegate authority to the Director for  Sustainable City  to complete negotiations with the Office of Low Emission Vehicles with a view to the Council being appointed as the accountable body for, and receiving grant funding under a funding agreement with the Office of Low Emission Vehicles;

3.    Delegate authority to the Director for Sustainable City, in consultation with the Monitoring Officer and Section 151 officer, the authority within the funding envelope provided by the Council to enter into:

a)     a grant agreement with the Office of Low Emission Vehicles; 

b)    appropriate agreements with our bid partners; and third parties required to deliver the project subject to their being selected under an appropriate procurement process.