Green for go: Kenny MacAskill hails black cab firm's carbon-neutral drive

A TAXI company claimed yesterday it was the first black cab firm in Scotland to go "carbon neutral". The initiative by Central Taxis in Edinburgh will see it go carbon neutral for all booked journeys at no extra cost or surcharge to the customer.

To be certified as carbon neutral, Central Taxis is working with CarbonNeutral Company, a provider of carbon reduction solutions, to reduce its CO2 emissions for booked journeys to net zero. This will be done through the Tieling Coal Mine Capture Project, an offset project located across six coalmines in the north-eastern province of Liaoning in China.

Central Taxis chairman Bill Purnell was joined by justice secretary Kenny MacAskill at Festival Square in Edinburgh yesterday to unveil a new "green" taxi.

Mr Purnell said: "By investing in becoming carbon neutral, Central Taxis is leading the way in taking responsibility for the unavoidable emissions associated with car travel, and helping to cut Scotland's carbon footprint."