[New] Drivers slam Canterbury council EV incentives as ‘a drop in the ocean’

Canterbury City Council has launched an incentive scheme to encourage taxi and private-hire firms to go electric – but the plan has been dismissed as “a drop in the ocean” by local drivers.

The incentives for drivers who switch to zero-emission vehicles include a £100-a-year overnight parking permit – available for five years – and the ability to advertise on their cars, subject to council approval.

Drivers will also be offered a 20% discount lasting five years to their licensing fee, amounting to about £30 per annum.

But drivers say these are inadequate compared to the cost of an electric vehicle. Even the cheapest suitable car, such as the MG5, costs in excess of £33,000.

But the authority has since been accused of “paying lip service to the green lobby”, as one businessman believes the benefits are “never going to persuade drivers to go electric”.

Whitstable-based private hire driver Richard Stebbing told local media: “The outlay would be prohibitively expensive for an electric vehicle, even if the range was sufficient. “On my busiest day last week I did well over 400 miles, and I was driving continuously, virtually non-stop for 10 and a half hours. You can’t do that in an electric vehicle. Unless they double the battery life and halve the cost, they’re never going to work.”

“It’s all a drop in the ocean,” Stebbing said. “The council are paying lip service to the public and the green lobby.”

Canterbury City council has voted through plans to only allow new taxi and private hire applications to be given to drivers using battery-electric vehicles from April 2030. Euro 5 emissions standard vehicles will have to be replaced by the August 2024, under the new rules

—Mark Bursa