All taxis in Tilburg must be electric or run on hydrogen from 1 January 2025. That is a drastic measure for an industry that is already struggling. According to taxi drivers, that is easier said than done. “I think that about eighty percent have not been able to put aside extra money for an electric car.”
The municipality will soon sign an agreement on this, writes Omroep Tilburg. Taxis will soon have to comply with the rules for zero-emission zones – zones in a city that polluting cars are not allowed to enter. Taxis that do not run electrically or that run on hydrogen will then no longer be allowed to enter certain parts of the city.
Mehmet Karay, owner of taxi company Stadstaxi Tilburg, is part of a sounding board group with the taxi companies and the municipality. He was already aware of the plans and has therefore already purchased one electric car.
According to Karay, many smaller companies and freelancers have not been involved in the talks and now have to make the switch. “Most are already struggling financially, due to the corona crisis and high fuel prices. I think that about eighty percent have not been able to put aside extra money for an electric car.”
And that’s not the only problem. “Group transport requires a good bus, in which people can, for example, sit opposite each other if they want to,” says Karay. “At the moment most suppliers cannot supply these types of buses electrically.” There is one electric bus for group transport on the market, a Mercedes. But it does not meet all requirements.
And then there are additional costs involved when purchasing an electric car, such as purchasing a charging station. There were plans in the municipality to install charging stations at the taxi ranks. “But nothing has come of it yet,” says Karay.
Now taxi drivers have to charge elsewhere and then drive to a taxi rank. Mehmet Karay: “Planning that is very different. With a petrol car you can fill up for five minutes in between, but an electric car has to charge for hours.”
That doesn’t mean Karay doesn’t think it’s a good idea to make the taxis electric. “Our electric car is much more maintenance-friendly, which saves a lot of costs. The higher purchase price of our car was thus recouped.”
But the municipality should do more to help taxi companies purchase an electric car, he believes. “If you want to impose such a rule, it’s best to give a subsidy.”