Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Emissions Standards and Age Policy

Overview

As part of our preparations for a Clean Air Zone, we have already put in place a licensing policy to ensure that taxi and private hire vehicles licensed by Birmingham will meet the minimum emission standards required by the Clean Air Zone. We must now consider what that policy will look like into the next decade in order to help drivers and vehicle owners make decisions about what type of vehicles they should buy. This consultation enables taxi and private hire drivers, owners and operators the chance to make known their views and offers members of the public who use taxis and private hire a chance to have their say on the standards that we should apply to vehicles.

Why your views matter

On 23 October 2017 Birmingham’s Licensing & Public Protection Committee approved new minimum emission standards for taxis and private hire vehicles that it licenses. From 1^st January 2020 diesel vehicles must meet the Euro 6 emission standard and petrol vehicles must meet the Euro 4 emission standard.

On 21 November 2018 the Committee considered further proposals for longer term emissions standards and a new vehicle age policy. It agreed to consult the public, including the taxi and private hire trade, before it makes a final decision on what the new standards will look like when it meets on 13 February 2019.

The proposals that the Committee would like you to consider are:

1. From 1 January 2020 we would like the age limit for licensed vehicles to be
   1. 14 Years for hackney carriages (taxis)
   2. 8 Years for private hire vehicles
2. We are considering discontinuing the exceptional condition test. (This is a test that is supplementary to the MOT that allows vehicles to continue to be licensed when they reach their respective age limit of 14 or 8, according to type. This will require all vehicles to be replaced when they reach the relevant age limit (subject to the exemption for certain hackney carriages detailed below).
3. We are proposing that a hackney carriage fitted with approved Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS) technology (e.g. a CVRAS LPG conversion) may continue to be licensed until 31 December 2025 provided that the vehicle is under 14 years old at 1^st January 2020, regardless of whether the cost is paid for through  government subsidy or whether the vehicle owner pays for the conversion.
4. We are proposing that from 1 January 2026 all licensed vehicles (hackney carriage and private hire) must be Ultra Low Emission or Zero Emission Capable Vehicles as a minimum. An Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle is defined by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles as emitting less than 50g CO₂/km and able to travel at least 70 miles without any emissions at all.
5. We are proposing that from 2030 we will only grant new licences to fully electric vehicles.