Bradford Council to offer taxi drivers a £10,000 grant to go fully electric

The Bradford Clean Air Zone was launched in September 2022 and an impressive 98% of the city’s 4,000 licensed taxis and private hire vehicles now meet the CAZ standard.

Since the go-live date, Bradford Council’s grant programme has been aiming funds at non-compliant taxis, private hire vehicles, heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), minibuses and coaches, with assistance to upgrade the largest types now expanded, via a new Clean Air Heavy Duty Vehicle (HDV) Grant Programme with £1.1m of funding. 

Now the Council are going a step further by offering incentives to drivers of compliant taxis and private hire vehicles to go fully electric. 

£4m is being made available to provide grants of up to £10,000 to assist with the purchase, lease or running costs of a fully electric wheelchair accessible taxi or private hire vehicle, with the application process beginning in May. Drivers whose vehicles are CAZ compliant but not fully electric can apply for top-up grant to make the switch, while those who have done so already can apply for the grant to cover running costs. 

The grant will be increased for non-Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles from £6,000 over 2 years to £10,000 over two years.

Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: ‘The taxi trade in Bradford is booming with applications to become a driver at an all-time high. We are pleased to further extend our support to the Bradford taxi trade for the upgrade of their vehicles to fully electric by offering up to £10,000 per vehicle in grant funding to assist proprietors with the running costs of a fully electric Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle. The funding will be allocated on a first come first served basis.’