Greener taxi ambulances carry patients to Guy’s and St Thomas’

In 2025, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust began using a fleet of 12 white electric taxi-ambulances to move patients to and from its hospitals and community clinics around London, so people who struggle with buses or trains now have a more accessible and lower-emission way of reaching routine outpatient appointments.

Manufacturer London EV Company explains that the TX-based vehicles are fully wheelchair accessible as standard, with integrated ramps, a low step, a swivel seat, braille switches and high-visibility handles, features designed to make boarding and travelling easier for patients with mobility or sensory impairments who might otherwise miss or delay care.

According to a July 2025 report in TaxiPoint drawing on trust figures, the 12 taxi-ambulances had already covered around 60,000 miles and transported about 13,000 patients across London by mid-2025, showing that the new vehicles are being used in everyday non-emergency transport rather than for occasional specialist journeys.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ describes the white taxi-ambulances as part of its wider non-emergency patient transport service for people who could not reasonably attend appointments any other way, complementing existing vehicles while offering a quieter, more spacious option that can carry several passengers and store medical equipment when needed.

The initiative sits within a national push to cut emissions from NHS travel: NHS England’s Net Zero Travel and Transport Strategy, published in October 2023, sets out a plan for all non-emergency patient transport to move to zero-emission vehicles and estimates that fully implementing the strategy could save more than £59 million a year in operating costs alongside wider health and societal benefits.

LEVC’s own environmental reporting in November 2023 said that, since launch, its electric TX taxi design had prevented over 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere worldwide and now makes up the majority of London’s black cab fleet, providing further context for how using the same platform for hospital patient journeys links local transport to broader climate goals.

For patients, the practical impact is felt in journey quality rather than policy documents: people who use wheelchairs, need oxygen or become breathless on long walks can now be picked up at home and brought directly to Guy’s, St Thomas’ or satellite clinics in a vehicle that looks familiar on the street but is adapted inside for health needs, narrowing the gap between those who can travel independently and those who rely on NHS transport.

21 November 2025 12:52 By London Health News Desk