The hackney carriages are going all eco-friendly.
London’s well known for being well, a bit of a polluted city. It’s only to be expected – the city is always bustling with British people, tourists and huge amounts of vehicles all of which are pumping out exhaust emissions every single day at a massive rate.
Of all the vehicles in London, there’s perhaps none more present than the traditional London black cab, or ‘hackney carriage’ if you prefer. Recent statistics report that there are over 22,000 London taxis in the capital, and Boris Johnson – London’s mayor – has recently stated that a ‘zero-emission taxi fleet’ will be in service by 2020.
In line with this move, Nissan has recently showed off the prototype of their new NV200 London Black Cab, an electrically powered, environmentally friendly taxi that is expected to be put into service by 2014. The new taxi is predicted by Nissan to cut the exhaust pollution generated by London’s huge fleet of cabs by up to 20%.
The taxis are said to have a range of around 200 miles based on an overnight charge, and Nissan is also hoping that London will also install a number of charging points over the next few years to keep the taxi service running smoothly.
There are also similar plans by Nissan to introduce similar taxis in other locations around the globe such as in New York, developing the same technology into the Big Apple’s signature yellow taxi range.
Written by Barry Atkins at www.tester.co.uk
