It’s now confirmed that Drivers of London electric taxis are going to be given RFID cards to help end unlawfully parked private hire cars and other vehicles obstructing crucial indicated rapid charge locations.
After several months of promoting & advocating for the new Rapid Charging Points (RCP) technology to be given to the minicab trade, private ChargePoint entree cards are now ready to start working in the next two or three months.
The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) secretary, Steve McNamara, mentioned that Transport for London (TfL) and ChargePoint firms are endeavouring to acquire the new cards generated and sent out to operators for near the beginning of the New Year.
Sources have revealed that two electric minicab RCP suppliers ESB and BP Pulse have consented to the RFID card technology. Minicab drivers will be requested to subscribe to the firms and only licensed taxi drivers will have the capability to access chosen taxi locations. Contactless payment alternatives will not be there. This means the private hire and general public drivers will not have access to the charge locations.
The news comes after the UK opens its first rapid charging bulb centre for fleet cars. This included designed and guarded card authorised access charge areas for Uber associate drivers in Mayfair this summertime.
In London only, more than 4,500 electric minicab drivers have spent over 200 million in Zero Emissions Capable cars since 2018 January.
The issues around the allocated taxi charge location access escalated so much that a new course reports on private hire cars and other private vehicles that utilize the bays were started.
Drivers on Twitter sent in videos, photos and information to @taxis_e who as a result tells TFL.
Through the videos shared, taxi operators were usually orally abused by drivers incorrectly utilizing the designed locations. The giving of RFID cards has now been taken as a positive move by charging firms and the transport regulator.
Additional information will be sent out soon once the RFID scheme is completed.