The Caretakers' Forum

New rules mean all new private hire vehicles or ‘minicabs’ in London, will have to be electric (EV) or plug-in hybrid (PHEV) from now on. No ‘self-charging’ hybrids currently on sale can meet the criteria, which require a minimum zero-emission range of 10 miles for cars emitting no more than 50g of carbon dioxide per kilometre.

I think the new rules have been set to mirror what the government will impose for cars after 2030. Only hybrid cars that meet a strict requirement will be given a stay of execution after 2030 before being totally banned in 2035. So currently only plug-in hybrid vehicles can meet that requirement, not ‘self-charging’ hybrids.

https://uk.motor1.com/news/629400/minic ... don-rules/

It appears the government want to get rid of all cars no matter what type and for every one to use public transport which is a laugh, i cannot recall now which Scandinavian country it is but it has free public transport, even New York has the free Staton Island Ferry and i believe this is the way our government needs to go to free up the roads.

the cost of public transport is the prohibitive factor (outside of London, where it is subsidised)

for me, missus and Daughter to get a bus into town will cost a minimum of £6, since the current reduction came in. It would previously have been £10.80. Then the same for the return.

If i drive my car i can park 4 hours for £6.40 and not have to drag all the shopping onto the bus, and walk from the nearest bus stop.


Where is the incentive to ditch my car?

While on the subject of public buses. When I was a school boy, I could catch a bus into town (about 3-4 miles away). There was a bus every 10 minutes. It cost just a few old pennies. You had the bus driver who was able to concentrate 100% on his driving and a conductor who took the fares and kept the passengers in line. You were often greeted by a cheerful welcome and many kept their passengers amused on the journey.

Now, the similar service costs several pounds, the bus comes once an hour (during peak times only otherwise 1 bus every 2 hours). You get one driver/conductor who is often miserable because he is underpaid and constantly moaned at by passengers for being late.

Public transport is all well and good if you are young. But when you get older, you are less nimble than you used to be. To walk half a mile to the bus stop in the freezing wind, pouring rain can be like climbing mount Everest for the elderly. Then you stand in the weather waiting half an hour at the bus stop for the bus to turn up, you can end up like a drowned rat. You increase the risk of catching flu, Pneumonia and COVID off the other passengers. Something that would take a couple of hours in a car can end up taking all day if you used a bus. Then you have to walk from the bus stop home carrying heavy shopping bags.

Walking or riding a push bike to town is out of the question for the majority of our ever increasing elderly and infirm population. My father is 91 and still drives his 13 year old Yaris. For people like him, there is no alternative.

(I'll step off me soap box hehehe)

What has changed, is when I was a boy I'd either walk or cycle to school. These days, parents think it is important to drive little Johnny to school in an oversized gas guzzling 4x4 and I only recently learnt the reason why. With a huge 4x4 they can mount high kerbs, drive up grass banks and find places to park away from double yellow lines where they would get fined (although some aren't even bothered about doing that). The areas around schools are like mud baths this time of year.

In the past two months or so I’ve used three Ubers, and all three were EV’s.
I can drive my car into the city as It’s an EV but choose to catch a bus because parking would be both a nightmare and expensive.

Some EV charge points in the city offer free parking during the time you are charging, however they seem to all be in use whenever I've checked through an app.