The Bradford Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) has provided data analysis support to secure £4.1 million in grant funding so that taxi drivers in the city can transition to fully electric vehicles.

The Data Strand of the Bradford HDRC has provided data analysis support through survey analysis and the generation of maps using geo-spatial data to provide unique and revealing insights into the barriers preventing Bradford taxi drivers from going electric. The analysis, performed by Robert Shore, Data Manager, and Dr Caroline Tait, Public Health Consultant, contributed to Bradford Council utilising £4.1 million of Government grant funding for the Bradford licenced taxi trade to assist with the running costs of a fully electric vehicle.

In parallel, there are enhanced discussions with British Telecoms Group (BT) on a project which could see the installation of electric vehicle charging points on streets within the Bradford district. The analysis outputs provided hard evidence to show the locations of Bradford taxi drivers and where their preferred electric charging locations would be.

As part of this project, the HDRC Data Strand was provided with survey responses on electric vehicles from over 1,200 taxi drivers across the district. 67.6% of respondents reported they were considering driving a fully electric taxi. Further analysis found that most taxi drivers would consider transitioning to electric if they had access to either off road (drive or garage) or on street dedicated parking charging points. Geo-spatial data was used to generate maps to track responses based on Bradford postcodes and identify locations to support taxi drivers charging their electric vehicles.

The survey provided an awareness of the new Bradford licenced taxis grants for fully electric vehicles.  Since the launch of the fully electric taxi grants there has been 873 applications with 103 grants already paid to drivers and a further 439 applications in various stages of process.

The support provided by the Data Strand of the Bradford HDRC was crucial in understanding the barriers to accessing electric vehicles in the Bradford district and is a clear example of the way in which the HDRC is working with the council to address the wider determinants of health in Bradford.

ust over a month on from the WOW Girls Festival, in partnership with WOW – Women of the World, we want to take a moment to say thank you for being involved and to reflect on the project.

The project in numbers:

• 6 areas visited – Bradford city centre, Keighley, Shipley, Little Horton, East Bowling and Wyke
• 1,400 residents engaged
• 15 community partners
• 100 mentors connected with 100 college and university students
• 127 secondary school students participated in workshops, including intergenerational linking with local older women
• 107,061 impressions on social media

The WOW Bus visited Bradford from Saturday 2nd to Wednesday 6th March touring to Bradford city centre, Keighley, Shipley, East Bowling and Wyke with over 1,400 people taking part in activities.

On Saturday 2nd we delivered creative activities for families and adults in partnership with Impressions Gallery and Bradford Libraries, followed by Sisterhood poetry open mic night by Spoke Poetry Hub. On Sunday 3rd Keighley Creative opened their doors for a day of interactive activities and performances with almost 400 people exploring the bus throughout the course of the day.

Through the week we visited Titus Salt School, Bronte Girls’ Academy and Appleton Academy where 127 students took part in activities on the bus, a printing workshop delivered by a local female artist and an inspiring intergenerational workshop led by The Linking Network. Appleton Academy also visited Sedbergh Sports and Leisure Centre for a panel talk and sports taster sessions with three local sporting women.

On Tuesday afternoon we held a lively community event at MAPA Cultural Arts Centre with 300 visitors, and on Wednesday afternoon we delivered speed mentoring with 100 students from Bradford College and the University of Bradford.

Members of the BCB Radio team joined us at various points, recording conversations which were featured on their International Women’s Day broadcast.

We received lots of positive feedback from the event, including from our schools who said ‘This has been a fantastic experience and our girls have enjoyed it thoroughly!’ and ‘Hearing from other local women was really powerful.’

Leeds Mencap Siblings community group who visited our Saturday family activities said ‘The day has exceeded expectations. We anticipated a few activities but the range and breadth and conversation prompts have been brilliant for our young people. Thank you for this amazing opportunity.’

We also had plenty of reach through press and marketing with 107,061 social media impressions, 442 engagements and 3,695 clicks on WOW content, and 12 pieces of press coverage including BBC Radio Leeds, BBC News, Bradford Telegraph and Argus, FE News and Keighley News.

Thank you everyone involved for making this such an engaging and impactful event.

Bradford District is proud to support the annual National Hate Crime Awareness Week of action.

The 2023 Events Programme highlights some key events and activities running across the district. There will be a Service of Hope and Remembrance on Monday 16 October, at Bradford Cathedral and a series of workshops, training sessions, and pop-up stalls happening throughout the week.

For more information, view our programme, or take a look at our Hate Crime Awareness Week event.