WIREDGOV

TfL has launched a consultation on proposed changes to taxi and private hire vehicle licensing ahead of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which will be introduced in central London in 2020.

The consultation has two main proposals.

The first is that from 1 January 2018, all newly licensed taxis and new private hire vehicles must be zero emission capable.

The second is to retain the existing 15-year age limit for all taxis and to encourage retirement of the oldest most polluting vehicles through a voluntary decommissioning scheme.

The proposals will be supported by a £65m fund to encourage the take-up of new vehicles that will make the Capital's taxi fleet the cleanest and greenest in the world.

The fund will help drivers upgrade to the next generation of zero emission capable taxis and to remove the oldest vehicles from the fleet.

A zero emission capable taxi is a pure electric or hybrid vehicle capable of running in zero emission (at tailpipe) mode for all or part of the time.

By 2020, TfL is also committed to ensuring all 300 single-decker buses operating in the ULEZ are zero emission and all 3,000 double-decker buses will be hybrid, including 800 of the Mayor's New Routemasters.

And it has proposed that 400 Euro V buses that operate outside the ULEZ be retrofitted to bring them up to Euro VI emission standards.

Together, these measures are expected to nearly halve emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) from vehicle exhausts in central London.

The ULEZ would also lead to a significant reduction in the number of people living in areas of poor air quality - where levels of NO2 exceed legal limits - by 72 per cent in central London and 54 per cent London-wide.

The consultation, which will run until 11 August, is available at Consultation ~ Tfl ultra-low-emission-zone