Climatecars Explained
Climatecars is a London, England private hire car service which uses solely hybrid and electric cars in its fleet. The company promotes itself as a green alternative to black taxi and minicab companies based in London.
History
Climatecars was founded in 2007 by Nicko Williamson, a University of Bristol graduate.[1] [2] Williamson studied the market and worked for an existing car service before starting his company.
Like other private car services, Climatecars cannot be hailed; they must be booked online or over the telephone, usually charge fixed prices, and can't use bus lanes.[3] Drivers pass a less stringent test that taxi drivers.
In 2011, the company raised £200,000 from Clydesdale bank and used the money to expand its fleet of vehicles.[4] That year Williamson was voted Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year,[5] received a BusinessGreen Leader Award,[6] and was also awarded the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Fast Growth Business Awards Ceremony.[7]
Climatecars provides Belu bottled water for its customers; the bottles are made from corn starch, and the company uses profits to support water development projects in Africa.[8]
IN 2012 Climatecars released an iPhone app to help its customers order car service.[9]
In 2013, Sam Cropper was appointed CEO of Climatecars.[10] [11] At that time the company was operating about 100 vehicles, but has since expanded to about 150.[12] [13]
In 2015, Climatecars was acquired by car service company Addison Lee,[14] as a way of expanding its fleet while reducing average emission rates.[15]
Technology and environment
Climatecars uses hybrid and fully electric cars to keep emissions to a minimum. Their fleet is made up primarily of the Toyota Prius hybrid[16] plus some fully electric Renault Fluence vehicles.[17] Climatecars emissions from the Prius are 89 g/km and the Fluence is 71g/km (when charged off the UK grid), which is versus 233 g/km for the latest Black Taxi (LTI TX4).[18]
External links
Notes and References
- Staff Writer. "Nigel Vaz's people worth knowing: the SapientNitro European MD and guest-editor of The Drum reveals top social entrepreneurs to watch". The Drum, 2014 06 26.
- http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/17/nicko-williamson-talks-climatecars_n_2314576.html "Nicko Williamson Talks About Launching Climatecars, His London Eco Car Service"
- http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2169356/climatecars-drives-addison-lee-boycott-row "Updated: Climatecars drives into Addison Lee boycott row"
- http://www.growthbusiness.co.uk/news-and-market-deals/fundraising-deals/1618058/climatecars-steers-forward-with-200000.thtml "Climatecars steers forward with £200,000"
- News: Nicko Williamson wins 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards. https://archive.today/20140901053118/http://www.angelnews.co.uk/angelnews-newssite/article.jsf?articleId=11929. 1 September 2014. Angel News. 2012-07-23. London. dead.
- http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/feature/2092961/businessgreen-leaders-awards-2011-nicko-williamson-electrifies-green-taxi-market "BusinessGreen Leaders Awards 2011: Nicko Williamson electrifies the green taxi market"
- News: Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Climatecars (Nicko Williamson). Growing Business, Crimson Publishing Ltd, Westminster House, Kew Road, Richmond TW9 2ND. 2009-12-20. 2012-07-23 . London .
- http://www.treehugger.com/cars/climatecars-new-green-cab-service-in-london.html "Climatecars - New Green Cab Service in London"
- http://www.coolsmartphone.com/2012/11/20/climatecars-the-eco-friendly-car-service-reviewed/ "Climatecars - The eco-friendly car service, reviewed - Coolsmartphone"
- http://www.lifehacker.co.uk/2014/12/08/work-sam-cropper-ceo-climatecars "How I Work: Sam Cropper, CEO of Climatecars"
- Donna Ferguson. "What are the highest paid jobs of 2014?". the Guardian.
- Super User. "New CEO Cropper promises rapid growth at Climatecars".
- http://www.pauley.co.uk/techreview/headsup/news/story.php?t=climatecars-and-wahaca-team-up-for-climate-week-2013 "TechReview - The latest Future Technology, Education and Environmental News"
- http://startups.co.uk/addison-lee-acquires-young-gun-founded-car-service-climate-cars/ "Addison Lee acquires Young Gun-founded car service Climate Cars"
- http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2409902/addison-lee-gets-into-zero-emission-gear-with-climate-cars-acquisition "Addison Lee gets into zero emission gear with Climate Cars acquisition"
- http://www.theecologist.org/investigations/science_and_technology/572344/when_will_we_see_a_green_taxi_industry.html "Investigations - Science and Technology - When will we see a green taxi industry? - The Ecologist"
- Mihnea Radu. "First Renault Fluence Z.E. Delivered in UK". autoevolution.
- http://www.enforbusiness.com/news/climatecars-launches-first-ever-zero-emission-minicab-20127901 "Climatecars launches first ever zero-emission minicab"
