Funding the green car revolution

Four UK cities have been awarded a total of £40 million to promote green vehicle technology after successfully bidding for a share of a multimillion fund created to support the take-up of plug-in electric cars. Here, Richard Bruce of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles provides an update on the funding.

On 25 January, the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, announced the winners of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ (OLEV) Go Ultra Low city competition. The UK’s first four Go Ultra Low cities will be Milton Keynes (£9 million), Bristol (£7 million), London (£13 million) and Nottingham (£6 million).

These cities were awarded a share of £35 million to support local incentives and initiatives to significantly increase the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in their areas. In doing so, they will aim to establish themselves as national and international exemplars by demonstrating both the benefits of ULEV ownership and the local measures that can really drive ULEV take up in local areas.

Such was the ambition demonstrated by the competing cities that Ministers decided to award an additional £5 million to the competition. Additional winners were the North East (£1.5 million), Dundee (£1.86 million), Oxford (£800,000) and York (£800,000). These will benefit from innovative chargepoint initiatives to support the wider roll out of ULEVs locally.

The Go Ultra Low cities announcement was big news, not just with national and regional press, but also across social media.

So what was all the fuss about?
The four main winning cities will deliver local measures to enable and incentivise the purchase and wider use of ULEVs including: Milton Keynes – establishing a high profile ULEV Experience centre, offering test drives and short term vehicle loans; opening up, free of charge to ULEVs, the 20,000 council owned parking spaces; and developing two key rapid EV charging hubs.

Bristol/the West of England – opening up high occupancy vehicle lanes to ULEVs; creating new rapid charging hubs in Bristol, Bath and Portishead; and proposing a Clean Air Zone in Bristol.

London – establishing an EV chargepoint delivery partnership to improve the offer to local residents; developing the capital’s ULEV car club network; and establishing eight ‘Neighbourhoods of the Future’ across different London Boroughs to trial local measures to support ULEV uptake including proposals for Clean Air Zones and EV parking bays.

Nottingham – enabling ULEVs to use the cities east to west bus corridor; providing a ULEV business support programme including a ‘try before you buy’ offer; and installing EV charging infrastructure at key locations, e.g. local park and rides.

McLoughlin said: “These Go Ultra Low cities have proposed exciting, innovative ideas that will encourage drivers to choose an electric car. I want to see thousands more greener vehicles on our roads and I am proud to back this ambition with £40 million to help the UK become international pioneers of emission cutting technology.

“The UK is a world leader in the uptake of low emission vehicles and our long-term economic plan is investing £600 million by 2020 to improve air quality, create jobs and achieve our goal of every new car and van in the UK being ultra-low emission by 2040.”

Local partnerships
This government recognises that its ambition for all new cars to be ULEVs by 2040 cannot be achieved without strong local partnerships. As the cities’ proposed measures demonstrate there are innovative things that local partners can deliver that central government cannot. Local authorities and other organisations can play a crucial role in delivering sustainable transport for their communities and businesses, delivering financial savings for residents, creating employment opportunities and improving local air quality in the process.

The Go Ultra Low cities now have an exciting opportunity to achieve this and demonstrate these benefits more widely. We are delighted to see the EV revolution growing in all corners of the UK.

Poppy Welch, head of Go Ultra Low said: “We’re excited to see the innovative ideas put forward by each of the winning Go Ultra Low cities become reality over the coming months. The £40 million investment by government, combined with funds from each winning area, will transform the roads for residents in and around the four Go Ultra Low cities.

“With thousands more plug-in cars set to be sold, cutting running costs for motorists and helping the environment, this investment will help to put the UK at the forefront of the global ultra-low emissions race. Initiatives such as customer experience centres, free parking, permission to drive in bus lanes and hundreds of new, convenient public charging locations are sure to appeal to drivers and inspire other cities and local authorities to invest in the electric revolution.”

Further Information
www.goultralow.com/blog/go-ultra-low-cities-an-extra-5m-boost-to-electric-cars/