Brussels taxis get two year delay for going fully electric

The Brussels Parliament has adopted an ordinance proposal to postpone the taxi sector’s obligation to purchase zero-emission vehicles by two years until January 2027.

Green parties denounced the fact that since June, there has been no majority in the Brussels Parliament except for specific files, such as for the two-year postponement of the tightening of the LEZ. “The same coalition now also wants to postpone the obligation for the taxi sector to purchase zero-emission cars, even though air quality in Brussels is only worsening.”

Postponement for 700 taxis in 2024

The Brussels government introduced in October 2022 the obligation for the taxi sector to purchase only zero-emission vehicles from January 2025. As taxi vehicles must be replaced every seven years, the obligation would apply to 700 taxis next year out of 3,250 vehicles in service.

However, the government’s decision allowed postponement following a reasoned opinion for the Taskforce Charging Poles. A recent study for the Taxi Sector Advisory Council showed that the cost of an e-taxi is no higher than that of a combustion taxi, and there is a good match between the taxi sector’s charging needs and the current supply of electric charging points “even if the taxi fleet were predominantly electric today.”

“Sector in difficulty”

However, according to Jamal Ikazban (PS), the proposer of the proposal co-signed by the MR, that study relied on theoretical models. Moreover, according to him, the sector’s profitability has also decreased since the study, which dates from September, and the investment cost is often too high for actors if subsidies are not provided.

Isabelle Pauthier, on behalf of Ecolo and Groen, pointed out that the Charging Pole Task Force’s study just showed that there are enough charging stations planned in the Region, so there is no reason for a delay.

Consequently, the Greens, Les Engagés, and CD&V voted against DéFI, Vooruit, and one member of Les Engagés abstained. An amendment by DéFI to limit the postponement to one year was voted down. Of Brussels’ 3,250 taxis, only just under 200 currently run exclusively on electricity.

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