A PILOT project has helped give 68 taxi drivers a world travelling taste of greener transport.

Denbighshire County Council’s pilot Green Taxi Project has completed its final low emissions mileage, supporting taxi firms across the county who are looking to cut their own carbon footprints.

The council was one of the select few local authorities in Wales taking part in the Welsh Government-funded scheme.

Beginning during autumn 2021, the project initially included the use of four wheelchair-accessible Nissan Dynamo E-NV200 taxis to use as part of the “try before you buy” scheme.

Hackney-licensed taxi drivers were able to try vehicle free of charge for 30 days, including free electric charging at specific locations in the county, vehicle licensing, breakdown cover and insurance.

Feedback from the taxi drivers regarding long-distance work saw a Kia EV6 added to the options.

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The vehicle can cover up to 328 miles on a single charge to allow taxi drivers to confidently work a complete shift including airport transfers without the need for charging.

Final mileage for the project saw the taxis cover roughly the distance of three-and-a-half times around the world at 88,086 miles.

The number of trips taken to support how greener taxi transport can help cut emissions finished at 12,760 individual journeys, operating across Rhyl, Prestatyn, St Asaph, Denbigh, Ruthin, Corwen and Llangollen.

Cllr Barry Mellor, lead member for environment and transport, said: “This pilot project has really helped taxi drivers across the county get a good experience of what it’s like to drive an electric vehicle (EV).

“It’s helped them all focus on their own carbon footprint and what they can do themselves to reduce their impact. Feedback has been really good from the drivers.

“The project has enabled us to source feedback on the use of zero emission tailpipe vehicles during taxi operations without compromising on service delivery and also show the fuel savings and impact against climate change that EVs can provide.

“The pilot has also helped our fleet department as well look at how different EVs can suit the urban and rural areas for transport that Denbighshire has.”