As more industries shift to sustainable sources of energy, a company in London is taking the first necessary step to lead the pack. Addison Lee is a private hire cab and courier company in London. And they plan to be the greenest one.
The taxi firm recently acquired the black taxi service ComCab, making it the largest taxi company in London. Now, the company has pledged to elevate its premier service even further. They’ll do it by converting its whole passenger car fleet into electric vehicles by 2023. To do so, Addison Lee intends to work with vehicle manufacturer Volkswagen to switch over to electric entirely.
Addison Lee: The Company Background
Addison Lee already has over 4,800 cars operating within London. With its acquisition of ComCab, it’s significantly increasing its total units to over 7,000 vehicles. This pledge from the company to shift towards more sustainable energy is a massive win towards support for much greener alternatives.
The company has 650 zero-emission units already operating within its fleet after the ComCab acquisition. It’s working with Volkwagen to convert its entire fleet into EVs. Addison Lee will invest $218 million to replace its fleet with the Volkwagen ID.4. It’s an all-new family-sized, all-electric SUV from the German car manufacturer. It runs on a 77-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack with a range of 250 miles on a single charge. Thus, making it perfect for city use service.
In addition to the 650 EV cars, the taxi firm plans to roll out 450 EVs by the end of 2021. They then intend to put 200 Volkswagen ID.4s per month. This will happen until the replacement of the entire fleet is achieved within the next couple of years.
There is a current lack of charging infrastructure in the UK. So far, they have only 300 rapid chargers in all of London. And the taxi firm has announced its plans to construct charging infrastructure for its fleet by utilizing its Future Mobility Fund worth $ 4.8 Million. This investment represents the company’s focus on supporting its drivers to achieve a successful transition to all-electric.
Cleaner and greener city
If the company goes all-electric by 2023, it will be the first in the transport service industry within Europe to achieve this feat. China’s Shenzen reached this environmental milestone in 2019 when 99% of its servicing taxis shifted to electric power. Other competitors, such as Uber, have pledged the same but can only initiate the transition to EVs by 2025.
According to Addison Lee, this intended transition will be a huge step forward to aid the government’s goal of achieving a net-zero economy. This also represents up to 20,000 zero-emission taxi trips within London every day. To add to the effort, London Mayor Sadiq Khan also announced that Transport for London will be purchasing zero-emission buses from hereon onwards. It will help them realize a carbon-free public transportation system by 2033 fully.
There are challenges towards achieving this goal may be complex. But, the result will be a greener and cleaner London that many consider worth the effort. Not only is this move from Addison Lee well regarded for its intentions, but it is also an ambitious plan that can serve as an example for other European cities. Furthermore, the Taxi firm’s commitment to going all-electric by 2023 is a more fast-tracked means of placing the company at the forefront of Europe’s shift towards Electric Vehicles.
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