To license a new taxi in London it has to be electric. We're seeing quite a few nowadays. There's still a huge backlog of diesel cabs but at least it's slightly improving.

New double deckers are hybrid, and all new single deckers are fully electric. Again, big backlog (8000) but give it 20 years. (I wish it could be done faster though)

With political will, the taxis could be solved in under 10 years — it's mad that they allow 15 year old taxis to operate.

The buses should be solved much earlier, the average age is about 4-5 years. (Older buses seem to end up in Northern England...)

https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/bus-fl...

What’s wrong with 15 yo taxis as long as they are compatible with emission regulations? If they work fine, we should encourage long term cars usage and repairs instead of throwing them away after 5 years.

The emissions regulations of fifteen years ago are much more relaxed than today's, and of course old cabs are measured to the old standard- grandfathered if you will.

If modern emission standards are really important then we should enforce standards but not throw away cars. Maybe old cards are still good enough. Maybe old cars can be tuned/upgrades/switched to another fuel etc. Car age is not important at all, and should not be considered.

That is what is done, age is an approximation.

So far, these rules aren't enforced against cars in England, only buses and heavy vehicles in London must comply. It's similar in some large cities in Germany and Sweden.

Example: http://urbanaccessregulations.eu/quick-guide-key-schemes?cit...

Aren't there congestion fees to enter central London with a car?

Yes, I think it's £11.50 a day, but that is only from a quick Google. To be honest it's probably not high enough to put enough people off who want to drive and park in c.london.

Anecdotally, however, I think there is a huge number of delivery/construction vehicles along with Black Cab/Uber taxis etc that seem to make up the majority of the car traffic in Zone 1 (Central area).