Barkingside Councillor and GLA member Keith Prince has called on Mayor of London to go further to protect the rights of London’s black cab drivers.

Whilst he welcomes Sadiq Khan’s move to exclude cabbies from a Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), Cllr Prince argues the Mayor needs to go further and “take urgent action.”

The councillor suggested increasing in the number of cab ranks in the city from 500 to 600, opening up more bus lanes to taxi drivers on specific routes and improving rapid electric charging infrastructure to help facilitate the move to electric cabs.

Cllr Prince said: “I was particularly pleased to see the government listening to those of us who raised concerns and the decision [to exclude cabbies from VED] will have a dramatic impact in enabling drivers to more easily switch to zero-emissions vehicles.

“But whilst this news is rightly being celebrated, it is important that we do not rest on our laurels. London’s iconic taxi trade, and the hard-working drivers that serve our city on a daily basis, are under serious threat.

“The government has listened to the taxi trade and has taken crucial action. Now the Mayor needs to do his bit and ensure our black cabs have a positive future in London.”

A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: “Sadiq has done more than any other Mayor to support London’s iconic black cabs, which provide an invaluable service for Londoners.

“The Mayor is already 90 per cent of the way to achieving his target of increasing the number of taxi ranks from 500 to 600 – having opened 90 new taxi ranks.

 “He has also opened 18 extra bus lanes for black cabs to use and is providing millions of pounds for drivers to convert to cleaner vehicles.

 “By recruiting an additional 250 compliance officers to work on London’s streets, the Mayor has been taking action against unsafe and illegal activity, clamping down on any unlicensed vehicles operating across the capital that undermine the work of London’s professional cabbies.”