Taxi Grants and Scrappage Schemes

Low Emission Zones affecting your work? – Funding available for taxi drivers

With the introduction of Low Emission Zones and charges across the country, the Government has enabled some local authorities to provide disposal grants for non-LEZ compliant vehicles. Your taxi could qualify.

Scrapping your non-compliant taxi

If your location’s funding does not involve a specific scrappage scheme, or you decide not to apply for any of these schemes, but do have an old car you’d like to scrap, we can still help you! Get an instant quote here.

It is important to check the conditions of your relevant scheme BEFORE you scrap your old taxi otherwise you may not be eligible to receive the funding.

Here’s a summary of the help available for hackney carriages and private hire vehicles (PHVs) and the best websites to visit for more information…

Taxis in London

London’s taxi delicensing scheme from TfL

This scheme is only available for Hackney Carriages in London. TfL re-launched its enhanced delicensing fund in January 2019 to support taxi drivers who want to delicense their Euro 3, 4 or 5 vehicles. Payments of up to £6,000 are now available to current applicants but there a lot of conditions. For all the information and contact details you will need you can visit the dedicated TfL webpage.

Taxi Schemes in Manchester

Clean Air in Greater Manchester

Manchester’s Clean Air Zone is due to be introduced on 30 May 2022 covering much of Greater Manchester.
Taxis and PHVs that don’t meet emissions standards (non-compliant vehicles) will be subject to a £7.50 daily charge to drive in the CAZ.

Funding to replace your taxi

The region has secured over £20m to fund the upgrade of non-compliant hackney carriages and PHVs either for retrofit or replacement, or running costs. The financial support scheme will open to applications from the taxi trade from the end of January 2022 and the official guidance states you should apply as early as possible for the best chance of being successful.
All the available information and a vehicle and financial support checker is already up and running on the ‘Clean Air Greater Manchester‘ website.

Taxi Offers in Sheffield

Sheffield’s Clean Air Zone

Sheffield’s Clean Air Zone will become operational in late 2022. There is already a wide range of information available for taxi owners in terms of the funding that will be available to replace or update non-compliant vehicles.

For now it has been confirmed that CAZ charges in Sheffield will apply to taxis that do not meet Euro 6 Diesel or Euro 4 Petrol standards at a rate of £10 a day.

Funding – grants and loans available

Options for PHV drivers include a grant for up to £3,000 to help you upgrade to an electric or zero-emissions capable (ZEC) car.
Options for hackney carriage drivers include an interest free loan, or a grant of up to £10,000 to support an upgrade to an electric or zero emissions capable (ZEC) model.
Many more options are being offered and you can also still have your say in the city’s consultation. Final funding decisions will be made in 2022.

For up to date information on the funds available you can visit Sheffield City Council’s Clean Air Zone webpage.

Taxis in Bristol

Bristol’s Clean Air Zone

Bristol’s Clean Air Zone will be introduced in Summer 2022. Non-compliant taxis will be charged £9 per day to drive within the zone and will only be charged once within a 24 hour period.

Funding to upgrade your taxi

£32 million has already been secured to help upgrade the category including HGVs, LGVs, taxis and private hire vehicles. To check if your vehicle would be charged, you can visit Bristol City Council’s web page, which also details current information on charging.

As a taxi driver you can already register your interest in receiving financial support and the council is currently promising that you should hear back early in 2022.

Taxi Deals in Oxford

Oxford’s Pilot Zero Emission Zone

Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council are introducing a Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) in the city in February 2022 starting with a small pilot area in Oxford City Centre. The area will be expanded once the councils have tested how the scheme works.

While there are extensive charges for the proposed ZEZ, all Hackney Carriages licensed by Oxford City Council are exempt.

Discounts on rates for taxis

Petrol-electric PHVs and Hackney carriages licensed outside Oxford may qualify for a 50 per cent discount if they emit either:
• less than 100 g/km CO2 if the date of first registration is before 1 September 2018
• less than 140 g/km CO2 if the date of first registration is on or after 1 September 2018.
This discount will end on 31 July 2025.

Grants and trials for electric Hackney Carriages

In August this year Oxford City Council announced £5,000 grants towards the costs of purchasing a new Ultra Low Emission Hackney Carriage.
Hackney Carriage drivers who are interested in the funding, or would like to find out more should email AirQuality@oxford.gov.uk.

Alongside this grant funding, the Council has also reduced the cost of its Try Before You Buy scheme, which was previously £150 per week and is currently free of charge. For the latest information on Oxford’s available funding visit the local government website.

Taxi Scheme in Portsmouth

Portsmouth’s Charging Clean Air Zone

Portsmouth’s CAZ launched at the end of November 2021. It’s based on the same standards of compliance as most of the other existing schemes, so only taxis and private hire vehicles that are older than Euro 6 if diesel, and Euro 4 if petrol, will be charged. A vehicle checker is available on the Cleaner Air Portsmouth website.

Clean Air Fund

If you are a taxi driver operating a non-compliant Hackney Carriage or PHV you may well qualify to get help from the Clean Air Fund as long as you meet the required criteria, which is listed on the council’s website. The current offering is £1,500 per vehicle to help drivers upgrade to a compliant taxi or PHV via purchase or lease. The council has said there is enough funding to support all active, licensed non-compliant vehicles, but that this could change if more licensed, non-compliant taxi’s return to operation. In which case, applications will be prioritised.

It is also worth noting that from January 2022, any vehicles that are over 4 years old cannot be newly licensed, so if you are buying a used vehicle you need to be sure you can drive it in the CAZ. This can be checked on the council’s licensing page.

If your old taxi can’t be licensed you can still sell or transfer the ownership for private use, or sell it for scrap with us.

There is step-by-step guidance on what to do if you plan to purchase an upgrade to your existing non-compliant vehicle and a specific link if you decide to apply for a Clean Air Fund grant.

Taxi Offers in Bradford

Breathe Better Bradford

Bradford’s Clean Air Zone, due to launch January 2022, will be charging non-compliant taxis £12.50 per day for use of the new zone.

Grants available for taxi upgrades in Bradford

The Clean Air Taxi Programme in Bradford has secured over £10 million in funding to supply grants for all categories of non-compliant taxis. It is made very clear that grant funding cannot be applied retrospectively so we would strongly advise to wait for the outcome of your application before making any purchase decisions.

3,000 grants are available ranging from £3,200 up to £5,000, to help the Bradford licensed taxi trade upgrade their vehicles to meet CAZ Standards. 25% of all grants are being prioritised for electric vehicles as the programme aims to encourage upgrades to ultra-low and zero emission vehicles.

The full application process is described step-by-step on the City of Bradford government website. There is also a direct link to the Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Vehicle Clean Air Zone Grant Application form.

Ready to get a valuation for your old taxi?

Once you have decided on the funding you are going to apply for and you’ve had confirmation you can go ahead and scrap your taxi, please use the form via the button below below to get a fast, no obligation valuation.

Please submit your details via the button below and we will contact you to confirm the price we can offer for your vehicle. You are under no obligation to accept, and the price offered is dependent on the vehicle, its condition and whether a Certificate of Destruction is required as proof of scrappage.

We will scrap your old taxi and provide you with the necessary DVLA paperwork as well as paying you a great price. All of our recycling centres are Authorised Treatment Facilities and are registered with the Environment Agency.

Remember, it is important to check the conditions of your relevant scheme BEFORE you scrap your old taxi with us, otherwise you may not be eligible to receive funds.