
One of the UK’s oldest taxi firms, Whiteside Taxis, which started with horses and carts as Handsome Cabs in 1880, is steering toward an electric future by installing a 60kW rapid charger at its base.
The St Annes-on-Sea operator has partnered with Greenway Power Group (GPG) and the Patons Group to provide the technology, which is also being made available for public use.
The deal allows the equipment to be installed with no upfront cost, with the investment recouped through a small surcharge on electricity over a five-year period.
Whiteside manager Stuart Miller believes the move is essential for the industry to stay competitive and sustainable. “The future of the taxi trade, and motoring in general, is going to be EVs,” Miller said.
“There is still a way to go with battery range and the charging infrastructure, but we wanted to make sure we are ready for that change.”
By having an on-site facility, drivers can top up their batteries for 10 to 20 minutes between jobs, avoiding the long queues often found at public stations.
The initiative also aims to support the local community and reduce the firm’s carbon footprint.
“This is one of the reasons that we decided to make the chargers available to the public. It creates a revenue stream for us and gives them another option for charging,” Miller explained.
He added that being the only firm on the Fylde Coast with its own chargers allows Whiteside to be more strategic about future fleet changes without "panicking."
A spokesperson for Greenway Power Group praised the firm's forward-thinking approach, noting that on-site charging solves the "availability and reliability" issues that often deter businesses from going green.
Under the partnership model, GPG covers all installation and equipment costs, ensuring the total price for drivers remains competitive with - or cheaper than - local public networks.

The proposal is designed to modernise the licensing system, reduce duplication, and improve efficiency while maintaining all required safety, knowledge, and training standards.

At Bolton Council’s licensing committee on January 6, the council highlighted its strict stance on driver conduct, resulting in one suspension and one final warning for the operators involved.

The council is considering new rules that would require taxi & PH firms to carry out criminal record checks on all staff members and notify passengers if their driver is licensed in a different town.

The incident took place just before 1am on Wednesday, February 4, on Mardale Road, where a taxi parked on a private driveway was set on fire.

Darren McCartney, a former prison officer and hostage negotiator, appeared before the North Ayrshire Licensing Committee following objections from Police Scotland regarding his criminal record.

Drivers are proposing to scrap the percentage-based surcharge in favour of entirely new, higher fixed tariffs for larger vehicles carrying up to eight people.

Officers stormed properties on February 5, detaining a woman, 42, and a man, 46, on suspicion of fraud; a man, 22, on suspicion of handling stolen goods; nd a man, 18, on suspicion of aggravated vehicle taking.

Abdulsalam Idlebi was found in breach of discrimination policies following the incident at a taxi rank on Irvine’s Bank Street last November.

Police have issued a fresh plea for help exactly one year after the body of 47-year-old Jesbir Singh Khela was discovered in a burnt-out car.

The cost of a standard one-year driver’s licence would jump from £150 to £165, while those opting for a three-year licence would see prices climb from £240 to £264.

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.

Under the new timeline, drivers must have a vehicle newer than a 2009 plate by December 1 of this year to renew their licence, with standards tightening further to a 2014 plate by 2028.

Research by Go.Compare Car Insurance found that 46% of adults “wouldn’t feel safe using a driverless Uber,” highlighting a significant hurdle for the government-backed technology currently being trialled in the capital.

Councillors in the Royal Borough are set to make a final decision on Monday 9 February, on a proposed 10 per cent increase to daytime taxi fares.

A North Ayrshire man has been denied a taxi licence following a "very serious" series of alcohol-fuelled offences that included stamping on a customer's face and assaulting police officers.

Alex Kendall, boss of British tech company Wayve, posted a video on social media to show off his car's “impressive drive without intervention” on his way to receive an OBE.

A Wolverhampton-licensed private hire driver's licence has been revoked for using illegal number plates and fraudulent insurance.

The pair, aged 50 and 23, convinced the driver to take them from Lisbon, Portugal, all the way to Barcelona, Spain.

Officers pulled over the Toyota Prius on Brown Street and discovered what they believe to be illegal drugs inside the car.

Members of the district council have adopted a new HC and PH licensing policy removing the requirement for the knowledge test to make it easier and cheaper for people to start working as drivers.
