The first fully electric taxi and rapid charging point has been unveiled in St Albans.

A new scheme, run by St Albans based business, Electric Blue, is introducing the city’s 300 licensed taxi drivers to the benefits of switching to all-electric cars, which are emission free and more cost-effective to operate than current cars.

Powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, Electric Blue has also unveiled the first Rapid Charger point in the city centre, located in Adelaide Street, which allows a driver to recharge his cab fully in 25 minutes.

In partnership with St Albans District Council, local Nissan dealer Glyn Hopkin, and other electric infrastructure partners, such as Evalu8 and APT Controls, Electric Blue offers taxi drivers the complete package and the opportunity to trial a taxi before they make the switch.

The first Nissan Leaf EV taxi will take to the streets of St Albans next week, according to Managing Director of Electric Blue, Alex Calnan, from Redbourn, who started the business in 2014.

He said: “Today marks an important step forward in the city’s ambitions to improve air quality for residents, as well as helping to reduce carbon emissions by harnessing electric power on our busy streets.

“We’ve received an extremely positive response from drivers so far and once the first taxi is operational, we expect take up to increase exponentially, as owners and customers see the benefits.”

Last month saw the launch of a Rapid Charger and the first all-electric taxi in Watford and Electric Blue will be expanding its network across a number of major UK towns and cities during 2015.

A recent nationwide consumer survey highlighted St Albans as the worst UK city outside of London for vehicle emissions.

Confused.com surveyed 2,000 motorists and ranked cities on a league table based on average emissions produced by each registered car across the UK, using data from a given postcode.

Source: St Albans Review