Taxi drivers' exposure to black carbon and nitrogen dioxide in electric and diesel vehicles: A case study in London

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and black carbon (BC) concentrations were measured inside London taxicabs across 40 work shifts in a real-world occupational study. The shifts were measured across five plug-in hybrid range-extender electric taxicabs (TXe City) and five diesel taxicabs (TX4 Diesel). The aim of this study was to characterise the impact of fuel and cabin design on professional drivers' air pollution exposures. Personal exposure was monitored using portable BC, NO2 and GPS devices. A controlled study replicating a typical taxi drivers' route in central London was conducted. Simultaneous inside and outside BC concentrations were measured to assess infiltration rates. The drivers were instructed to keep the BC devices with them at all times, providing a comparison of exposures at work and outside of work. The driver's average BC and NO2 exposure while working was nearly twice as high for diesel taxicab drivers (6.8 +/- 7.0 mu g/m(3), 101.9 +/- 87.8 mu g/m(3)) compared with electric drivers (3.6 +/- 4.9 mu g/m(3), 55.3 +/- 53.0 mu g/m(3), respectively). The exposure to BC while not working was 1.6 mu g/m(3) for diesel drivers and 1.1 mu g/m(3) for electric drivers, highlighting the very high exposures experienced by this occupational sector. The analysis of vehicle type on BC concentrations showed that the airtight cabin design and presence of an in-built filter in the electric TXe City reduced the exposure to BC substantially; indoor to outdoor ratios being 0.63 on the electric taxi compared to 0.99 on the diesel taxi with recirculate ventilation mode off and 0.07 to 0.44 with recirculate on. These findings provide important evidence for occupational health of professional drivers through exposure reduction measures in vehicle design.

Automated summary

This study measured nitrogen dioxide and black carbon concentrations inside London taxicabs and compared the air pollution exposures of diesel taxicab drivers and electric taxicab drivers. The findings indicated that diesel drivers had higher exposure levels, while the airtight cabin design and presence of in-built filter in electric taxis significantly reduced exposure to black carbon.