Charge! Public sector bids for ULEV funding

Police vehicles, fire engines and ambulances could all quickly be powered by electrical energy – if the government gets its way.

The NHS, the fire service and the police are amongst the 35 or so public sector organisations getting asked to bid for a share of a new £5 million funding scheme to support ultra-low emission autos (ULEVs).

Announced by Baroness Kramer, transport minister, the scheme will offer you profitable organisations a fully funded fleet evaluation to recognize how to introduce greener vehicles.

“We want the public sector to lead by example,” she mentioned.  “This £5 million investment will see a significant enhance in the number of plug-in vehicles employed by public bodies such as local authorities, police forces and the NHS.”

Civil actions

The government’s public sector ULEV scheme has been around considering that final year.

Fifteen government departments took component in the first phase, and around 150 electric and plug-in hybrid cars will start entering their fleets from next month as a outcome.

It is hoped this second phase will see far more than 200 a lot more plug-in vehicles added to the fleets of a variety of public sector organisations – like the emergency solutions.

Thin green line

You might locate the idea of an electric police automobile bizarre – but an electric fire engine? Genuinely?

But the fact is, attitudes to ‘alternative’ fuel cars need to have to modify, as plug-in cars look set to grow to be commonplace on our roads more than the subsequent few years – with overall performance and range turn out to be much less significant all the time.

Consider this: the quantity of ULEVs bought in the UK last year was 4 instances higher than the total for 2013.

And it looks to set to continue to rise, with makers such as Audi, Volkswagen, Nissan and Renault supporting the “Go Ultra Low” campaign.

Public service

The government is also undertaking its best to ensure more road users select electric or plug-in hybrid cars.

In April final year, for instance, it announced £500 million of fresh ULEV funding, with £200 million earmarked for the Plug-in Automobile Grant that knocks up to £5,000 off the price of a qualifying vehicle.

(Or de facto adds £5,000 to the list price tag of stated automobiles, depending on your perspective…)

The fund also includes:

– £100 million for investigation and improvement

– £32 million to generate a lot more chargepoints for electric vehicle users, and

– £20 million to encourage taxi drivers to choose ULEVs.

Even nearby buses could soon go electric, with another £30 million set aside to increase the low-emission bus market place.

Charge! Public sector bids for ULEV funding