Liverpool’s first ever electric black ‘super’ cab is unveiled

Liverpool’s first ever electric black cab is about to hit the streets.

It’s got that instantly recognisable ‘Hackney Carriage’ look but this stylish new super charged cab is quieter, cheaper to run and cleaner than its diesel counterpart.

And with more on the way by the end of the month the city will have more than other big cities like Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.

Designed and built by the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) and known as the TX, it uses a small petrol generator along with an electric battery. It can give drivers a range of 377 miles, including up to 80 miles electric range.
Cabbies can save up to £100 a week in fuel and service costs. For the passenger, this feature-packed vehicle is ultra-safe and includes a panoramic roof and on-board WIFI.

Crucially, the new electric cab will be a leading example in Liverpool’s anti-pollution revolution because it can be operated in ‘zero emissions’ mode for most of the day.

The city council and its partners have ambitious plans to help clean Liverpool’s air by reducing emissions of potentially harmful Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter found in higher levels in diesel fumes.

The council is already planning to introduce a diesel-free fleet of council vehicles, such as bin lorries, in the city centre by 2019 and across the city by 2024. They would be replaced by electric, hybrid and compressed and natural gas vehicles.

Normal Liverpool Taxi

There is also a proposal to stop the practice of retrofitting older, higher emission diesel engines in black cabs and phase out these engines by 2024. While motorists are being encouraged to switch off their engines while stopped and/or waiting for someone to further reduce levels of harmful emissions.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, will be on hand on Thursday 13 September at the UNITE the Union Liverpool taxi education centre to welcome the first electric cab.

Mayor Anderson said: “Liverpool’s licensed taxi trade is a great ambassador for our city and they do a fantastic job. We want to support them as much as we possibly can and by supporting great new innovations such as this is one way we can help. There are a number of funding streams available and we are currently investigating how we could tap into them to assist our drivers with purchasing these new vehicles.

“We are also committed to cleaning our city’s air for the sake of future generations and clearly this new breed of taxi will help.

“It’s cheaper to run and much cleaner than the older vehicles so it’s good for the hackney carriage trade and good for the people Liverpool.”

UNITE the Union is supporting the introduction of the electric cab by providing a purpose-built new charging point at its taxi training centre. The charging points have been supplied by car charging company New Motion and have been funded through a grant from Mersey Travel.

UNITE National Taxi Organiser Tommy McIntyre, said: “The benefits of these new black cabs speak for themselves and we believe they could encourage more members of the public to use black cabs because they are so environmentally-friendly.”

“Buying one of these new vehicles would be a significant investment for any cab driver but we believe the long-term savings in fuel and running costs would ultimately pay off. By the end of September we are hoping to have three of these new vehicles on the roads, which means we will have more than cities such as Manchester, Leeds or Newcastle. Now we are looking forward to working with our members to bring even more electric cabs to Liverpool’s streets.”