Sussex Air was successful with their bid for the 2021/2022 Air Quality Grant for a number of air quality projects, including a taxi engagement study. The purpose of this project is to facilitate a transition to electric vehicles by taxi and private hire drivers. It will help the districts to build infrastructure that is convenient, reliable and works for the taxi trade and will drive the progression of taxi licensing policies for EV drivers.
The project is supported by Energy Saving Trust through the Local Government Support Programme, which is fully funded by the Department for Transport and aims to help local authorities decarbonise transport, improve air quality and increase electric vehicle adoption.
The Taxi project is a collaboration of Sussex Air with Licensing officers from local authorities across Sussex, West Sussex County Council, East Sussex County Council, Connected Kerb and Energy Saving Trust.
Electric Vehicles in West Sussex
WSCC website provides more information on Electric Vehicles in West Sussex and its charging point network.
Map of Charging Points
On ZapMap it is possible to access a UK-wide map of electric car charging points that helps electric car drivers locate and navigate to their nearest EV charging point.
Taxi and Private Hire Survey 2022/23
From 24th May 2023 to 07th July 2023, two surveys – East Sussex and West Sussex – were available to gauge opinions about electric vehicles from the taxi and private hire trade across Sussex.
This survey was coordinated by the Energy Saving Trust on behalf of the districts and borough councils in West and East Sussex. The results will help us understand the barriers they are facing to making this switch. This will help to inform licensing policies and charging infrastructure decisions to support a fair transition to EVs.
The results of this survey will also be shared with Connected Kerb, as partners helping to deliver the West Sussex Chargepoint Network.
Workshops
In November 2022, Energy Saving Trust’s Local Government Support Team offered a mini forum for elected members of Sussex to explain more about electric vehicles (EVs), how they work, how to charge them and bust some common myths. Energy Saving Trust also covered the business case for making the switch to EVs and examined some of the EV market offerings for taxi and private hire drivers.
