Addison Lee drivers will get easier and cheaper electric vehicle (EV) charging on the public network through a new partnership with Octopus Energy.
From today, Monday 18 March, drivers at Addison Lee – London’s largest premium private hire, courier and black taxi provider – will get access to Octopus Energy’s EV roaming service, Octopus Electroverse.
Electroverse’s revolutionary ‘one card, one app’ model means Addison Lee drivers no longer need to download multiple apps and subscriptions. This deal enables them to power up with just one simple tap at most charge point brands in the capital.
This partnership also means Addison Lee drivers will get up to 24% off their charging costs at thousands of Source London and MFG EV Power charge points across London.
Now operating the largest sustainable fleet in London, over the last three years, the firm has spent over £80 million to upgrade its vehicles and ensure it meets growing demand from customers who value quality and sustainable service.
The firm offers fully electric and zero emissions capable vehicles from executive, premium cars, to black taxis. This includes 600 PHEV VW multivans, Audi A6s, and A8s, in addition to the 1,000 fully electric VW ID.4s.
This comes as Octopus’ public charging disruptor has nearly tripled customer numbers over the past year - now the UK’s biggest EV roaming service.
Liam Griffin, CEO at Addison Lee commented: “As the first private hire operator in London to introduce EVs at scale, we have been a pioneer of electrification.
"This also means that we have seen first-hand the difficulties that private hire drivers face when it comes to finding reliable and available charging infrastructure.
"Over the last three years, we have committed to supporting our drivers with this ongoing challenge, and we are pleased to add Octopus Energy to our range of strategic charging partnerships.”
Matt Davies, Director of Octopus Electroverse, said: “Addison Lee has taken brilliant steps towards electrifying its fleet.
"We’re excited to now give their thousands of electric cab drivers access to our super-simple EV charging experience, as well as discounts on key charging networks.”
This is the latest milestone in Octopus Energy’s plans to speed up the transition to clean electric transport.
Its Octopus Electric Vehicles division is now the UK’s largest EV-only leasing business and the company is a pioneer in smart tariffs for EVs.
Its Intelligent Octopus Go tariff uses the company’s tech platform Kraken to charge electric cars when the grid is greenest and cheapest.
Last month, Octopus launched the UK’s first mass market vehicle-to-grid tariff, Octopus Power Pack, enabling free home charging.
Eligible taxi drivers will be contacted directly by Addison Lee to access this Electroverse deal.
The incident occurred at around 10.36pm on Saturday, April 27, on Bourne Avenue, next to the Upper Gardens.
New research has suggested that passengers think the capital's next mayor and TfL should be doing more to support the city's iconic black cabs as they are 'at risk of becoming extinct'.
A "lifeline" vehicle which transports some of the most vulnerable, disabled and disadvantaged members of the community was subject of "mindless" vandalism.
The taxi firm could soon be on the streets of the Granite City after reapplying to operate in Aberdeen having previously withdrawn their last application in 2019.
A new maximum taxi fare has been approved for areas of Oxfordshire despite concern the scheme is "rubbish" and the authority responsible is "behaving like a dictator".
More than 300 taxis are still not compliant with Glagow’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) rules, it has been confirmed.
The cabbie and his brothers “cornered and attacked” a man who used to work in their father’s butchers shop.
Police have released mugshots of three people who tried to force an Uber driver to give them money. The driver was racially abused and beaten up by one of the three.
Changes to taxi fares on the Isle of Man have seen maximum prices rise and the late-night tariff pulled forward by an hour.
A taxi driver has suffered several head injuries after being attacked by two passengers in robbery attempt.