Cornwall Council have committed to being ‘Net Zero’ by 2030. That means that as they regulate the Taxi & PHV Trade in Cornwall, we are a direct target of that mission, even though we are only responsible for a microscopic 0.35% of pollution.
On Wednesdays 7th & 14th September 2022, the University of Exeter held a two-part workshop with members of the Taxi/PH trade, to discuss what the Council want to achieve and why, and how changes can be made to our trade to achieve it.
What we absolutely do know:
In 2018, there were about 1,500 licensed vehicles in Cornwall. Currently at the time of writing, there are 1,011 licensed vehicles in Cornwall. A reduction of 33%. As the PHM magazine reports, our trade is shrinking!
Also in 2018, the average age of a licensed vehicle was 15 years. Currently it is at 10 years, a decrease in average age of 33%. However, as vehicle prices have recently doubled, will the trade be forced to slip backward, due to affordability? So, on this basis, it is fair to say that what is currently being sold new right now, is what the trade will be using in 10 years’ time.
It would be fair to say from much discussion, that the purchase power or affordability for a replacement vehicle is at best around £10,000 for the average Taxi/PH operator. Such is the economics of our trade.
It would also be fair to say that for the average busy day, you would need to be able to achieve a mileage range of at least 350 miles before worrying about refuelling, but fortunately, most diesel-powered vehicles will give a comfortable range of 500 miles. I don’t need to point out to those in the trade, but for anyone else, whenever you go on a Taxi journey with a passenger – you have to come back again, Cornwall is not the city of London, where you often pick up where you drop off – miles, miles, miles!
Finally, we also know that the average time for refuelling is 5-8 minutes, and then on you go comfortably for another 500 miles. So, say you have a job to Heathrow or something, you know you don’t have to think of refuelling until the way back. Although, I have done it there and back on one tank on a few occasions. So, for all intents and purposes, the diesel powered vehicles we use are ideal for the job.
Electric – EV
We know that the average ‘real-world’ range you can expect from an EV is around 100-140 miles for a saloon (depending on what you can afford), and around 80-100 miles for an 8-passenger minibus. All with an average ‘fast’ charging time of 1-1.5 hours, giving you a recharge of 80%. So, on an average busy day, you would need to fast charge at least twice, maybe three times. Problem is, you’ll be late for your customers, or miss them completely and they go with someone else, because you are busy recharging!
The cost of a an EV starts from around £30-40,000, and an E-Minibus around £50-60,000. So considering our purchase power of, at best, £10,000, and all the jobs you’ll fail to service and money you will lose because you are too busy recharging, and add to that the additional £40,000 in finance you will need to take out, you’ll be out of business within a year or two, unless you can at least double, if not triple the price of taxi fares and the amount of work you can get!
During the second workshop with the University of Exeter, Matt (who gave the EV presentation) stated the following:
- The Taxi Industry runs vehicles in a “Duty Cycle way beyond what average motorists do” – Hard use case – High Mileage.
- The vehicle the taxi trade in Cornwall needs, does not exist!
Conclusion: “The vehicle the Taxi Trade in Cornwall needs, does not exist yet!”
What is the way forward?
As much as the Council would like to force everyone to EV’s, unless they are going to pay for the vehicles for us, and subsidise our loss of earnings while we twiddle our thumbs recharging, then the Taxi/PH trade simply cannot afford it, neither in cost, or by being hamstrung by such poor range and ridiculously long refuelling (charging) times. The Taxi/PH trade in Cornwall has shrunk by 33% in the last 3 years, and forcing an unworkable technology on it, will probably destroy what remains.
However, the EURO6 standard will be 10 years old in 2025, so setting a minimum vehicle standard to say EURO6 for a new vehicle license application, or replacement vehicle from 2025 say, would be a much more real-world target to aim for.
What we absolutely do know:
In 2018, there were about 1,500 licensed vehicles in Cornwall. Currently at the time of writing, there are 1,011 licensed vehicles in Cornwall. A reduction of 33%. As the PHM magazine reports, our trade is shrinking!
Also in 2018, the average age of a licensed vehicle was 15 years. Currently it is at 10 years, a decrease in average age of 33%. However, as vehicle prices have recently doubled, will the trade be forced to slip backward, due to affordability? So on this basis, it is fair to say that what is currently being sold new right now, is what the trade will be using in 10 years time.
It would be fair to say from much discussion, that the purchase power or affordability for a replacement vehicle is around £10,000 for the average Taxi/PH operator. Such is the economics of our trade.
It would also be fair to say that for the average busy day, you would need to be able to achieve a mileage range of at least 350 miles before worrying about refuelling, but fortunatley, most diesel powered vehicles will give a comfotable range of 500 miles. I don’t need to point out to those in the trade, but for anyone else, whevever you go on a Taxi journey with a passenger – you have to come back again, Cornwall is not the city of London, where you often pickup where you drop off, miles, miles, miles!
Finally, we also know that the average time for refuelling is 5-10 minutes, and then on you go comfortably for another 500 miles. So, say you have a job to Heathrow or something, you know you don’t have to think of refuelling until the way back. Although, I have done it there and back on one tank on a few occasions. So, for all intents and purposes, the dieasel powered vehicles we use are ideal for the job.
Electric – EV
We know that the average ‘real-world’ range you can expect from an EV is around 100-150 miles for a saloon, and around 100 miles for an 8 passenger minibus. All with an average ‘fast’ charging time of 1-1.5 hours, giving you a recharge of 80%-ish. So on an average busy day, you would need to fast charge at least twice, maybe three times. Problem is, you’ll be late for your customers, or miss them completely and they go with someone else, because you are busy recharging!
The cost of a decent EV is around £30-40,000, and an E-Minibus around £50-60,000. So considering our purchase power of £10,000, and all the jobs you’ll fail to service, because you are too busy recharging, and add to that the additional £40,000 in finance you will need to take out, you’ll be out of business within a year or two, unless you can at least double, if not triple the price of taxi fares!
During the second workshop with the University of Exeter, Matt (who gave the EV presentation) stated the following:
- The Taxi Industry runs vehicles in a “Duty Cycle” way beyond what average motorists do – Hard use case – High Mileage.
- The vehicle the taxi trade in Cornwall needs, does not exist!
So what is the way forward?
As much as the Council would like to force everyone to EV’s, unless they are going to pay for the vehicles for us, and subsidise our loss of earnings while we twiddle our thumbs recharging, then the Taxi/PH trade simply cannot afford it, neither in cost, or by being hamstrung by such poor range and rediculously long refuelling (charging) times. The Taxi/PH trade in Cornwall has shrunk by 33% in the last 3 years, and forcing an unworkable technology on it, will probably destroy what remains.
However, the EURO6 standard will be 10 years old in 2025, so setting a minimum vehicle standard to say EURO6 for a new vehicle license application, or replacement vehicle from 2025 say, would be a much more real world target to aim for, with a grace period of 5 years for existing licensed vehicles.
The Big Question
Will the Council make their decision based on ideology, or will they look at this realistically and practically, and see that considering we are now only 0.35% of the pollution problem, imposing totally unaffordable, and crippling standards upon us is not the way forward.