Private hire chauffeur operator Thriev has launched a fleet of 20 zero-emission, fully-electric BYD e6 cars in London.
Thriev is the first company to offer low-cost, zero-emission, chauffeured vehicles to corporate and private users in London. The BYD e6 is ideally suited for private hire operations, providing a range of up to 186 miles and the 20 private hire cars will be able to be recharged both at the depot and on the road thanks to a London-wide charging network rolled out by British Gas.
The new fleet is the result of a shared ‘green city solution’ vision, to bring reliable, emission-free transport to London’s roads, replacing petrol and diesel powered vehicles with electric ones. The 20 BYD e6 vehicles operated by Thriev join two fully-electric BYD buses that are already in service with Go-Ahead Group on two central Transport for London routes.
The Thriev service will be supported by a brand new city-wide charging network installed by British Gas in addition to its own rapid charging stations. British Gas has been leading the delivery of the UK’s charging infrastructure for electric vehicles since 2010. The first rapid chargers, made by BYD and capable of charging an e6 to 80% in just 30 minutes, have already been installed at Thriev’s Edgware Road facility. As the service expands across the UK, creating one of the largest of its kind, it will eventually see each unit of electricity matched with a unit of 100% British renewable electricity.
Matching the latest vehicle technology is Thriev’s use of the latest smartphone technology in the form of its booking app. The app, available for Apple and Android devices, allows customers to book a car in just three clicks. GPS allows the vehicle to be tracked in real-time on a map and the app also retains a history of previous reservations in the last 30 days for expense management and allows users to quickly rebook a repeat trip.[wzslider height=”400″ lightbox=”true”]
