Dundee’s Bid for Ultra Low Emission Taxi Scheme is Shortlisted

The bid was written by Urban Foresight is now guaranteed the minimum of a feasibility study backed by £30,000 of government funding which will be carried out independently by the Energy Savings Trust. The study will gather vital information that will inform how local authorities could use the funding to reduce the upfront costs of purpose-built taxis and install charging infrastructure for taxi and private hire use.

The scheme is part of a larger £500 million investment the UK government is making over the next 5 years in order to achieve the vision of almost every van and car to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050.

The selection process has currently been through two rounds with Dundee being shortlisted from an initial 50 entrants. Urban Foresight wrote the bid for the City Council, outlining the overarching objectives, key elements to be delivered, method of implementation and evidencing the suitability of Dundee as a city to be a potential ULEV exemplar. Letters of support from local industry, businesses and other organisations accompanied the submission.

Commenting on the scheme, Transport Minister Andrew Jones said:

“These cities have shown they are committed to adopting greener technology and the government is backing their ambition by showing the benefits a share of £20 million of funding could deliver.”

The next stage of selection will be completed later this year.