The Sheffield City Council has successfully secured funding for its latest scheme that will allow the city’s taxi drivers to borrow electric vehicles in order to familiarize themselves with the latest in urban mobility. The cabs will be available as early as Summer 2021 and are meant to bridge the gap between the currently owned diesel-powered cars and their electric alternatives that will become more commonplace in the future.
Ensuring a smooth transition
The funding secured by the Sheffield City Council has been provided by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Through it, authorities will provide taxi drivers with a pool of 11 vehicles to choose from, which will be available to be borrowed for a period of 2-4 weeks.
This new scheme will give local drivers to opportunity for some hands-on experience to try out and familiarize themselves with the new vehicles which should in the near future become the norm. Unfortunately, according to the City Council, the COVID pandemic has put many private citizens’ plans for the purchase of new electric vehicles on hold but the new project will help bridge the gap.
Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability Bob Johnson stated “I’m looking forward to seeing our local drivers trying out electric taxis in Sheffield. Changing to electric, especially when you’re driving all day is a big shift and giving local drivers a chance to ‘try before you buy’ will help to make that change easier for some. Sheffield is a hilly city and if an electric cab can cope with a run-up Walkley road, they’ll cope with anything.”
The new vehicles that will be procured by the City Council will be entirely wheelchair accessible and will be able to be charged at some 27 charging points across the city.
Source: TheMayor.EU
