NOT FARE
I’m being forced off the road by the council… they want me to buy a £75,000 eco-friendly cab but I’ll end up on the dole
A FUMING cabbie has claimed he is being FORCED to buy a £75,000 eco taxi by his local council... but it will leave him on the dole.
Abe Housein, 58, from Canterbury, Kent, said the move by the council to punish "polluting" cabbies is "too scary to think about".
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The dad-of-three, who has been a cab driver for 24 years, has never been on benefits and cannot believe he now faces imminent unemployment.
He told : “I don’t have tens of thousands floating around to buy an electric taxi that doesn’t even do the job that I want.
“I could drive a smaller car but it doesn’t benefit my work because I would lose my school run and the families.
"It would put me on the dole."
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New rules to be enforced in August will affect all Euro 5 vehicles, which are predominantly petrol and diesel cabs registered before 2015.
It is part of a plan to crack down on diesel and petrol cabs in the city to make the entire fleet either electric or hybrid by 2025.
The council are then plotting to push for 100% of taxis to be electric by 2030 - forcing hundreds of Canterbury's cabbies off the road.
To replace his eight-seater Fiat Scudo - which is Euro 5 and registered in 2014 - Abe will be a whopping £30,000-£100,000 out of pocket.
Devastated Abe said the move is a slap in the face to drivers who can earn anything from £30 to over £100 a day.
I don’t have tens of thousands floating around to buy an electric taxi that doesn’t even do the job that I want.
Abe Housein
Forced to look for a new car, Abe test drove one model which retails at £73,500.
But it could not even cover the 200 miles he does a day on one charge.
What's more - the cabbie says the council don't even have enough charging points to accompany the "ridiculous" changes they demand of cabbies.
He explained: “They put a charging point at the front of the taxi rank.
"The wire doesn’t even reach the charging point of one guy’s car. He has his own wire but you’re not allowed to link them together.
“You would think you would come out and check this.”
NOT FARE
Cabbies say the target dates are “ridiculous” and should be delayed until more charging points are installed.
They also want vehicles to become more affordable and practical for taxi work before any changes are brought in.
The council is not able to provide exact figures for the number of taxis that could be affected by this summer’s changes.
A spokesperson for Canterbury City Council told The Sun Online: "Tackling climate change and cutting pollution to improve air quality around the district are key priorities for the council and requiring taxi drivers to do their bit as quickly as possible is really important.
"We listened carefully to the taxi trade when introducing this policy and promised to keep it under constant review because it depended on charging points being in place and how advanced electric vehicles had become by the time it was due to be implemented, especially how far they could travel on a single charge.
"We are already considering whether the timetable needs amending in light of all of these factors.
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"If licence holders have a clear view on a timetable they can deliver on, we would be keen to hear from them.
"This is an issue that is not going away so we need to work together to tackle it head on."
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