Electric car cities at Smarter Travel LIVE win £40m funding from DfT

Milton Keynes says DfT funding will allow low cost charging points across the city

Milton Keynes says DfT funding will allow low cost charging points across the city

Funding of £40m has been awarded to cities and towns across the UK to promote electric cars, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced today. 

London will get £13m to create ‘Neighbourhoods of the Future’ prioritising ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in several boroughs. Elsewhere, Milton Keynes has won £9m to open a city centre Electric Vehicle Experience Centre, Bristol will get £7m to offer free residential parking for ULEVs while Nottinghamshire and Derby will use funding of £6m to install 230 charge points and offer ULEV owners discount parking.

The Go Ultra Low Cities scheme is also giving £5m of development funding for initiatives in Dundee, Oxford, York and north-east regions.

The winning cities will develop technology such as rapid-charging hubs and street lighting that doubles as charge points, along with a range of proposals that will give plug-in car owners extra local privileges such as access to bus lanes in city centres. Around 25,000 parking spaces will also be opened up for plug-in car owners saving commuters as much as £1,300 a year, said the DfT.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “These Go Ultra Low Cities have proposed exciting, innovative ideas that will encourage drivers to choose an electric car. The UK is a world leader in the uptake of low emission vehicles and our long-term economic plan is investing £600m 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.”

Poppy Welch, head of the government-backed Go Ultra Low campaign, said: “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.”

The Go Ultra Low Cities fund is just one element of a £600m package of measures from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) by 2020, which also includes £400m for individual plug-in car grants, investment in low emission buses and taxis, and research and development funding for innovative technology such as lighter vehicles and longer-lasting car batteries.

The £13m award for the capital will pay for car-charging street lighting in more than 10 streets in Hackney while Harrow is to develop a low emission zone offering parking and traffic priority to owners of plug-in vehicles.

In Bristol owners of ULEVs will get free parking as well as access to three carpool lanes in the city. The council also plans to install more than 80 rapid and fast chargers across the city and will launch a scheme to encourage people to lease a plug-in car for up to four weeks.

Nottinghamshire and Derby will install 230 charge points and offer ULEV owners discount parking and access to over 13 miles of bus lanes along key routes across the city.

In Scotland new commuter charging hubs will be installed in Dundee to open up links across the region for plug-in vehicle owners while York will get solar-canopied park & ride hubs designed to reduce air pollution in and around the city.

The new Electric Vehicle Experience Centre in Milton Keynes will serve as a ‘one stop shop’ providing consumer advice and short-term loans for vehicles. The city also proposes to make 20,000 parking bays free to ULEVs and allow bus lanes to be used by low emission vehicles.
Milton Keynes Council will also install charging hubs, where vehicles can be fully recharged in around 30 minutes and charging posts close to residential areas.

Council Leader Pete Marland said: “Milton Keynes is one of the forerunners in electric vehicle technology – Nissan launched its electric LEAF car here five years ago and we haven’t looked back since. The technology involved in electric and other low emission vehicles has progressed at an exponential rate – they are widely accepted as ‘proper’ cars now and there’s no doubt that they are a key in reducing harmful emissions into the atmosphere, which as we all know, is unsustainable.

“Being named as one of the Go Ultra Low Cities reaffirms our commitment to promoting the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles as part of our long term transport strategy. This funding is a very important step in making us one of the most sustainable regions in Europe.”

Milton Keynes is host city of Smarter Travel LIVE! which takes place on 17-18 March. Representatives from all the Go Ultra Low Cities will be speaking at the event with details of how they plan to implement new infrastructure and measures. This will represent the first opportunity for practitioners and suppliers to find out how they can support these initiatives.