London Sweep Gets On His Bike To Beat Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ Charge
London’s oldest chimney sweep firm has forked out thousands in a bid to beat Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ charge.
H. Firkins & Sons used bikes to get around the city when they first started plying their trade in 1860.
They’ve now reverted to a more modern version – an electronic bike – so they don’t have to pay ULEZ charges, which are being extended to every London borough in August.
The bike also gets around the Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) restrictions which have plagued local trades for years.
Josh Firkins is a sixth generation sweep and the great, great, great grandson of the company’s founder.
He said: “Like most trades, we’ve been using vans to get to jobs around London for years. But in the past 10 years, it’s been a complete nightmare. Journeys which used to take 5 minutes now routinely take 30 or 40 minutes. That’s a combination of the traffic and the LTNs.
“The extended ULEZ charges were the last straw. Our patch is across North London, but very often around Southgate, FInchley and Enfield – all areas which had so far not it been included in ULEZ charges. That’s obviously all going to change, so we decided to act.”
The e-bike, which costs over £16,000, is powered by a battery which allows users to complete over 40 miles a day, at speeds up to 15mph. It has space in the back for all of Josh’s sweeping equipment.
And with parking no longer a problem, it’s proving a massive hit with customers as well.
“Many stop and take photos on their mobiles, and I was recorded for about 10 minutes by a child hanging out of the back window of a car once” continued Josh.
“People have a natural curiosity about chimney sweeps anyway, but this takes it to a whole new level.
“As a trade, we’ve used primarily the same equipment – rods and brushes – for generations. So it seems that, in terms of how we’re getting around, it’s gone full circle as well.”
