Posted on the 5th February 2026 in PHTM News

MANCHESTER TAXI DRIVERS STICK TO DIESEL AS ELECTRIC GRANTS STALL

Less than a third of taxi drivers in Greater Manchester are using new government-funded grants to switch to electric vehicles, according to research by the Clean Cities Campaign.

While an £8 million Hackney Support Fund was launched to help clean up the region's air, data from January 2026 shows that the majority of cabbies are choosing to stick with traditional fossil fuels.

Of the 193 grant applications approved so far, 131 will subsidise "compliant" Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel vehicles, while only 62 are being used for fully zero-emission models.

Sarah Rowe of Clean Cities called the trend a “missed opportunity,” noting that while London sees one in five taxis go electric, the figure for the rest of England remains as low as one in 100. 

“To lock them into fossil fuel-powered vehicles seems short-sighted at best,” she said, adding that a stronger push for electric cabs would “improve the health of all of us who breathe the air here in Greater Manchester.”

The grants for purpose-built wheelchair accessible vehicles, which offer up to £12,560 for zero-emission capable models and roughly half that for newer diesel cars, are part of a wider investment-led Clean Air Plan.

In an update on their plan, Greater Manchester are to announce that they are delivering all the measures agreed with government to meet legal limits for NO?, without the need for a charging Clean Air Zone.

However, campaign groups argue that without better incentives for electrification, the city-region is failing to catch up. As Rowe put it: “It’s a shame that two-thirds of those taxis being upgraded will remain petrol and diesel.”


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