Bear in mind John Prescott’s 200-yard trip in a gas-guzzling Jag to make a speech on the dangers of worldwide warming nearly a decade ago?
How occasions have changed.
The government yesterday showed its commitment to green transport, adding more than 100 plug-in vehicles to its fleet of automobiles.
Government departments and agencies such as the Property Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Workplace and the Ministry of Defence will use 140 ultra-low emission autos as component of a £5m investment to decrease emissions.
Danny boy, the exhaust pipes are calling…
The Government Vehicle Service, which supplies automobiles for ministers, will also add 4 low emission vehicles to its fleet, with Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, proclaiming: “This is the appropriate factor to do for both the environment and the taxpayer.”
But these in the corridors of power aren’t the only ones joining the ‘green revolution’. The £5m investment will also go towards take-up by the wider public sector – such as councils, police forces and the NHS – of plug-in automobiles.
Some of it will be utilised to pay for charge-points to be installed to permit the cars to be charged at work.
Bandwagon on the run
Of course, the government would like us all to jump on the green bandwagon, and offers generous financial incentives for performing so.
If you have got a ULEV – and ultra low emission vehicle – then you will spend no fuel duty and no automobile excise duty (road tax, to you and me).
Also, you don’t have to pay the Congestion Charge when you’re driving in London, or stump up for advantage-in-sort tax if you’re utilizing the car for enterprise. You can even park for free at a ne2rk of public charge points.
Taken for granted
The wonderful green giveaways don’t finish there. The Plug-in Auto Grant applies to any vehicle which can be charged by electricity and gives 25% off the expense of a auto, up to a maximum of £5,000.
The Government announced a additional £200m for the Plug-in Car Grant in April 2014, which will stay at its current level till 2017, or until at least 50,000 cars have been sold, whichever is sooner.
While all this might sound good sufficient purpose to swap your automobile for a greener alternative proper now, bear in mind that green vehicles aren’t without their downsides.
The grant could be generous, but automobiles that are type to the environment are expensive.
For instance, according to the site nextgreencar.com, a Peugeot iOn Electric 47kW Automatic 5 door electric automobile will set you back a hefty £21,216, including the grant.
The tiny MIA Electric 18kW Automatic 3 door, meanwhile, expenses a hefty £14,996, once again such as the grant.
Not-very-residence on the variety
Even if expense is not a problem, then restricted mileage could be. Most battery electric automobiles enable you to drive a maximum of 100 miles a day, so if you drive more than this your best bet is probably to be a plug-in hybrid which can use each electrical energy and fuel.
There’s also the situation of exactly where you can charge your automobile.
There are at present only around 8,000 charging points in the UK, in 3,154 various locations. You can verify the internet site Zap-Map.com to find out if there’s 1 where you need to have it.
Provided the limited number of stations offered, it’s possibly not surprising that there are presently only around 20,000 registered electric cars on UK roads.
Street of dreams
But it’s not all doom and gloom. Progress could be slow, but it seems inevitable that take up of green cars will continue to gradually boost.
The latest round of Government funding for charging infrastructure enables you to apply for funding to install a public on-street charge point at a appropriate place close to exactly where you live.
Your initial stop ought to be to contact your local authority to ask if they have signed up to the scheme. If they haven’t, ask them if they would be willing to. They can uncover out a lot more by contacting the Workplace for Low Emission Cars.
Govt leads by example with green vehicle fleet
