Next Generation Minicabs
The automotive industry is getting more exciting every years.
Its continuous growth is fueled with innovations and advances that are geared towards health and environmental concerns.
The minicab industry is no exception.
In 2006, the industry was alerted to the environmental issues that minicabs can cause.
According to a research article published in that same year at the Atmospheric Environment journal, the most risky way to travel was sitting in the backseat of a cab, because of the amount of pollution that one got exposed to.
It was even worse than when one is walking or cycling.
New policies In January 2012, as part of the preparation for the London Olympics, London mayor Boris Johnson launched a campaign that encouraged London drivers to turn off their engines when they are picking up people, dropping off goods, or if they remain stationary for other reasons for longer than a minute.
The campaign stated that it causes less air pollution when we turn off our engines and just restart after one minute rather than leaving the engine on idle.
And, of course, black cabs and minicabs were prime targets for this campaign.
To ensure the campaign's success, the government sent a team of taxi marshals into the capital's pollution hot spots to promote the campaign among black cab and minicab drivers.
New cars In July 2011, the low-carbon motor show EcoVelocity stated that if only London's black cabs went 100% electric, the city would be spared 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide pollution per week.
Then EcoVelocity added that if the city's minicabs likewise went 100% electric, that figure would go past 12,000 tonnes of CO2.
Well, the black cab and minicab industries listened.
In fact, as early as June 2011, even before EcoVelocity gave its report, the first zero-emission black cab was released.
Running on a hydrogen fuel cell system, the only thing this cab emitted was water vapour.
As for minicabs, well they certainly were not going to let the competition gain too much forward ground.
Minicab company ClimateCars started by putting hybrid Priuses on the road in 2011.
In 2012, they released their 100% electric minicab, the 94HP Renault Fluence ZE car, which reaches up to 115 miles per charge and gives passengers a comfortable, spacious, and completely silent ride while contributing towards London's efforts for cleaner air.
Incidentally, trips in the Fluence are charged only according to the distance they've travelled, so customers stuck in traffic won't have to worry about having to pay for the driver's time.
New services There's another perk to riding the 100% electric minicab: Fluence passengers are given free bottled water.
It is, admittedly, not a very eco-friendly practice and may not stay very long, but it was originally part of the effort to encourage people to book the more eco-friendly minicab.
One of the biggest factors for the success of the 100% electric black cab and minicab campaign is the network of charging stations installed in London by Mayor Johnson.
For his part, the mayor stated, "The growing uptake of zero-emission electric vehicles is great for London, helping us to deliver cleaner, healthier air.
I am thrilled to see that my ever-expanding Source London charge point network is now helping to support this fantastic new eco-fleet introduced by ClimateCars.
"
Its continuous growth is fueled with innovations and advances that are geared towards health and environmental concerns.
The minicab industry is no exception.
In 2006, the industry was alerted to the environmental issues that minicabs can cause.
According to a research article published in that same year at the Atmospheric Environment journal, the most risky way to travel was sitting in the backseat of a cab, because of the amount of pollution that one got exposed to.
It was even worse than when one is walking or cycling.
New policies In January 2012, as part of the preparation for the London Olympics, London mayor Boris Johnson launched a campaign that encouraged London drivers to turn off their engines when they are picking up people, dropping off goods, or if they remain stationary for other reasons for longer than a minute.
The campaign stated that it causes less air pollution when we turn off our engines and just restart after one minute rather than leaving the engine on idle.
And, of course, black cabs and minicabs were prime targets for this campaign.
To ensure the campaign's success, the government sent a team of taxi marshals into the capital's pollution hot spots to promote the campaign among black cab and minicab drivers.
New cars In July 2011, the low-carbon motor show EcoVelocity stated that if only London's black cabs went 100% electric, the city would be spared 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide pollution per week.
Then EcoVelocity added that if the city's minicabs likewise went 100% electric, that figure would go past 12,000 tonnes of CO2.
Well, the black cab and minicab industries listened.
In fact, as early as June 2011, even before EcoVelocity gave its report, the first zero-emission black cab was released.
Running on a hydrogen fuel cell system, the only thing this cab emitted was water vapour.
As for minicabs, well they certainly were not going to let the competition gain too much forward ground.
Minicab company ClimateCars started by putting hybrid Priuses on the road in 2011.
In 2012, they released their 100% electric minicab, the 94HP Renault Fluence ZE car, which reaches up to 115 miles per charge and gives passengers a comfortable, spacious, and completely silent ride while contributing towards London's efforts for cleaner air.
Incidentally, trips in the Fluence are charged only according to the distance they've travelled, so customers stuck in traffic won't have to worry about having to pay for the driver's time.
New services There's another perk to riding the 100% electric minicab: Fluence passengers are given free bottled water.
It is, admittedly, not a very eco-friendly practice and may not stay very long, but it was originally part of the effort to encourage people to book the more eco-friendly minicab.
One of the biggest factors for the success of the 100% electric black cab and minicab campaign is the network of charging stations installed in London by Mayor Johnson.
For his part, the mayor stated, "The growing uptake of zero-emission electric vehicles is great for London, helping us to deliver cleaner, healthier air.
I am thrilled to see that my ever-expanding Source London charge point network is now helping to support this fantastic new eco-fleet introduced by ClimateCars.
"
Source...