The mayor of London has been accused of allowing thousands of highly-polluting black cabs on to the capital’s streets, as a ‘pay back’ to the taxi trade.
Darren Johnson, a Green Party member of the London Assembly, claimed that the bi-annual inspection of taxis was vital in reducing harmful emissions.
He claimed mayor Boris Johnson’s move to axe the mid-year test was the result of a pay back for the taxi trade, which acted in his favour during last year’s mayoral campaign by handing out receipts bearing the slogan ‘back Boris’.
Darren Johnson said the high number of taxis failing the tests was proof of the need of a mid-year inspection.
‘If they all passed with flying colours, then the annual tests would be sufficient. But, given that London is facing legal action from the European Commission over levels of pollution, this is a big mistake. I’m calling on the mayor to rethink his decision,’ he said.
The tests, which operated between 1 October 2007 and 6 November 2008, were unnecessarily scrapped by the mayor in favour of on-street inspections, he added.
Initial Transport for London (TfL) figures from the 10-month period to 31 July 2008 show 2,389 black cabs failed mid-year inspections (39%). But new figures obtained by the Green Party suggest that as many as 2,898 failed their pollution tests during the period of 1 August 2008 and 6 November 2008.
A TfL spokesman said: ‘We believe the unpredictable nature of the on-street inspections provides a better incentive to keep a taxi in the best-possible condition.’
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