Taxi operators face the nearest deadlines – as of the 1st January 2018, all newly registered vehicles will have to be capable of driving electrically. TfL has set out a target of 9,000 ‘zero emission capable’ taxis by 2020, and is offering £5,000 for drivers who want to decommission vehicles over ten years old – on top of OLEV’s £5,000 Plug-in Car Grant and a £3,000 ‘top-up’ grant.

Private hire fleets will move towards an eventual deadline of 1st January 2023 for all vehicles to be capable of driven using an electric motor. Vehicles registered in the 2018 and 2019 calendar years will be required to meet Euro 6 requirements, or Euro 4 for petrol hybrids, with a ‘zero emission’ requirement introduced from 1st January 2020 for those under 18 months old. Older vehicles will be required to meet Euro 6.

From the 1st January 2023, all newly registered private hire vehicles, regardless of age, will have to be ‘zero emission capable’. Drivers can take advantage of the £5,000 Plug-in Car Grant.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: “The taxi and minicab trades have a crucial role to play in helping to improve London’s air quality. This is why we have made them a central part of our Ultra Low Emission Zone plans.

“We understand this will take time and that is why we are giving financial assistance to help clean up these vehicle fleets. The Ultra Low Emission Zone is the most ambitious measure of its kind in the world and we need everyone on board for it to be a success.”

 Garrett Emmerson, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer for Surface Transport, added: “The measures we are setting out will encourage owners of taxis and minicabs to take action now, and sets a course towards cleaner taxi and private hire trades and a cleaner London.”

The ULEZ, said to be a world first, is projected to almost halve NOx emissions in central London, meaning more than 80% of the zone will meet nitrogen dioxide limits in 2020. It will also significantly reduce the number of people living in areas of poor air quality (where levels of NO2 exceed legal limits) by 72% in central London and 54% across London.