Should the Island's taxis be electric vehicles?

Government is asking whether it'd be possible to introduce the measure

A new government survey is asking how feasible it would be to make all the Island's taxis electric vehicles.

The Climate Transformation Team is putting the question specifically to taxi drivers.

Mike Birchall is Secretary of the IOM Unite taxi branch and part of the Manx Taxi Federation.

He doesn't think there's any chance of this idea sticking:

Liam Joyce is director of The Executive's Choice - an all-electric taxi company on the Isle of Man.

He thinks it'd be great to see all the Island's taxis follow suit:

A government spokesperson told Manx Radio that the survey was initiated by the Department for Enterprise after being approached by a taxi operator who wanted to explore the pros and cons of purchasing an EV and the broader EV infrastructure on the Island. 

In response, a short survey was created to better understand the requirements of taxi operators, particularly to help inform its EV charging strategy, which is being progressed through a workshop.

They say the survey and discussions did not include any strategy or policy regarding the electrification of taxis, and that while financial assistance was raised as a concern by the taxi operator, it was made clear that no financial support is currently available, nor are there plans to introduce any.

You can listen to both these interviews in full in this episode of our Newscast podcast here: