A London Met student is supporting eConnect Cars by developing a crowdfunding campaign, completing coursework at the same time.
Date: 15 December 2015
Zero-emissions taxi firm and London Met KTP partner eConnect Cars have launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance the next phase of its growth, hoping to double the size of their fleet ahead of the introduction of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in London.
Ernest Mugadza from the School of Computing began the crowdfunding campaign as an assignment for his Research and Development Skills module.
From January 2018, when London is to become an Ultra-Low Emissions Zone, all private hire cars (taxis) less than 18 months old must be zero emissions capable in order to get a license. This means they will need to be able to have a range of at least 30 miles in zero emission mode.
eConnect cars goes one step further by having a fleet consisting entirely of 100% electric vehicles, the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S. This eliminates completely the disbursement of particulate matter from exhaust pipes that contributes to the death of approximately 9,000 people per year in London.
London Met is currently working with eConnect cars to develop a unique intelligent dispatch system to support the expansion of the eco-friendly company enabling them to scale up their operations efficiently and effectively.
eConnect has already raised over 25% of its £400,000 crowdfunding target in the first few days which shows the significant level of interest in the campaign and is indicative of people’s concern for environmental matters, particularly with relation to health and pollution in our cities.
Managing Director, Alistair Clarke said: “With crowdfunding we’re looking to double the size of our fleet and accelerate the development of our software. Within five years we want to be the leading zero emissions urban mobility provider in the UK”.
Prof Kazemian from London Metropolitan University said: “It is very exciting to see that one of our students from Research and Development Skills module is contributing to the crowdfunding campaign as part his coursework, obtaining industrial experience and being part of such an important and echo-friendly cause”.
