Boris is at it again, it seems. Not content with charging every motorist for the privilege of entering the capital by car, he has now proposed that diesel vehicles should be subject to an additional £10 levy. Why? Because diesel is blamed for higher levels of pollution than petrol cars.
We’re all familiar with that choking cloud of thick, black smoke belching out of the exhaust of a diesel car, so it’s only fair that in this day and age of green policies, diesel drivers should be penalised for their dirty ways, right?
Well, not according to the London taxi drivers, they shouldn’t. Still smarting over the Uber app fiasco, they’re now up in arms over the proposal, as it could add a significant increase to their running costs and cut deep into their profit margins. Only diesel vehicles that meet the Euro 6 emissions standard such as the new Nissan taxi and the Metrocab, will be exempt under the proposals. Older cabs (those iconic ‘Black Cabs’ that still work the streets after 40 years) would have to pay the charge. However, to be fair, anyone driving petrol cars registered before 2006 will also have to pay the extra £10 too.
Today in the UK, 10million cars are diesel – that’s a third of the number of cars on the road. However, most taxis are diesel, and that means the majority of London’s 25,000 black cabs could be impacted by the plans.
Struggling to keep costs down
Taxi drivers in London have had a tough time lately, and are struggling to keep running costs down as prices go up. The cost of everything from diesel at the pumps to MOT charges, taxi insurance cover and even the price of tyres are all conspiring to reduce the earnings of taxi drivers across the capital.
Boris, despite his popularity with other sectors of the community, will not find himself to be ‘flavour of the month’ if he decides to go ahead with the levy. And taxi drivers could find they have some unusual allies in their fight against the scheme, with delivery drivers, logistics firms and those old arch-enemies of taxi drivers, the courier companies, all line up against the proposed diesel levy.
The line in the sand has been drawn – and if Boris is set to push this though he could find it difficult to get a cab in town any time soon!