London Mayor Sadiq Khan has decided to expand the London ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) across all London boroughs from next August, despite massive objections to the move. But the move could face a legal challenge from Conservatives in the Greater London Assembly, who claimed…

Operators looking for an electric seven-seater will receive a boost next year with the launch of the new Ford Pro E-Tourneo Custom, offering a practical people-mover with a pure electric range of 230 miles. E-Tourneo Custom is one of four new all-electric Ford Pro…

Dispatch systems provider iCabbi has hit the major milestone of one billion journeys completed on its platform. A digital counter in the company’s Dublin head office counted up to the magic billionth, and was celebrated by the company’s founders and staff. “Every taxi booking…

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s decision to remove the Vehicle Excise Duty exemption from electric vehicles has been badly received by the industry, with the AA accusing him of “dimming the incentive” to switch to electric cars. Hunt told the Commons in his autumn statement: “Because…

A company billing itself as “the AirBnB of EV charging” is looking to offer a convenient overnight charging solution to provide hire or taxi drivers who do not have access to off-street charging. Co Charger is promoting Community Charging – a concept that enables…

Toyota has unveiled the new fifth-generation Prius in Japan, but despite its popularity with the private hire trade, it won’t be coming to the UK. While taxi operators still love the Prius, most car buyers are moving toward SUVs and crossovers rather than regular…

Street Cars has made a second acquisition in west Manchester with New Moon, a 180 car fleet serving the Stretford area, joining the growing group. The deal follows last month’s purchase of long-standing Chorlton operator Goodwins Olympic, a company whose roots stretch back 45…

Take Me Group has made a further acquisition in the West Midlands, pushing its combined fleet in the region to 900 cars. The deal sees Premier Cars of Oldbury join the Take Me group, adding a further 80 cars to the combined fleet of…

Addison Lee has announced a new partnership with independent electric vehicle charging aggregator Bonnet, designed to provide partner drivers with discounted EV charging. The deal will give Addison Lee drivers access to more than 20 charging networks, including more than 1,000 rapid charge points…

Shell has closed its hydrogen filling stations at Gatwick airport and at Cobham (pictured) and Beaconsfield motorway services, citing a lack of demand for the service. In a statement, the oil giant said sites had “not performed satisfactorily” and had “reached an end of…

Octopus Energy Generation, one of Europe’s largest renewable energy investors, has allocated up to £110 million in funding to grow Manchester-based public EV charging network Be.EV across the UK. The deal will help grow Be.EV’s public charge point network sixfold from 150 chargers at…

Southampton-based taxi operator Cab My Ride has made its second acquisition of 2022, acquiring local competitor Millers Taxi for a six-figure sum. Millers Taxi is a well-known operator in the Eastleigh, Fareham and Winchester area, running a fleet of 70 vehicles. The company offers…

Uber has agreed to pay HMRC £615 million to settle an investigation into unpaid VAT. The payment will resolve all outstanding UK VAT claims against the company Uber had previously argued it was exempt from VAT as its drivers were classified as self-employed. But…

Bolt has launched a new partnership with corporate travel technology specialist HQ that will allow business customers to pre-book Bolt cars when travelling between the US and Europe. Jeff LaFave, managing director of HQ, said: “Our clients’ employees travel significantly between the US, Europe,…

Take Me group has continued its expansion into the west midlands, with Nuneaton-based Direct Taxis merging with the company’s existing TC Cars operation. The move adds a further 70 cars to the Take Me roster, and along with other recent acquisitions makes Take Me…

Veezu has extended its reach eastbound with the acquisitions of Panther Taxis in Cambridge and ABC Taxis in Norwich. Panther Taxis, founded 30 years ago, has more than 600 vehicles across the Cambridge area, while ABC Taxis in Norwich has built a fleet of…

Ford’s controversial decision to end production of the Fiesta supermini in favour of new electric SUVs made the headlines – but buried in the announcement was the news that a favourite in the private hire sector was also for the chop. The Ford Galaxy…