Bristol’s target of being carbon neutral by 2050 has come a step closer with the introduction of new electric vehicle (EV) charging points and the conversion of part of the City Council’s fleet to electric.
The council is using £2m of grant money from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) through the Go Ultra Low West project to bring 120 new public charge points on line across the West of England. 
At the same time seven electric Peugeot Partner vans will be used by council departments such as repairs and maintenance, parks and estates and the Records Office.
In addition the council’s parking services team will take delivery of six Nissan Leaf zero-emission cars to use in and around the city centrc.
The Council aims to have at least 10% of its fleet made up of Electric Vehicles by 2021.
Cabinet member for energy, waste and regulatory services Cllr Kye Dudd said: “These are good forward steps on our journey to becoming a carbon neutral city by 2050 and a big boost for those in Bristol wanting to adopt electric vehicles. Across the city in both business and private use, we’re seeing a rise in electric vehicle take up so we will continue to look at ways in which we can support this growing trend.
“As a council, we have a responsibility to lead by example and despite reducing our carbon emissions by 60% three years early; we’re already looking at ways to meet our new targets ahead of time. It’s great to see so many people in the city thinking more about how they travel and the impact on the environment.
“This is a great thing for staff using the council’s pool cars and will no doubt inspire other businesses to explore the benefits of a green fleet.”
The first set of OLEV-funded ‘pilot’ charge points have already been installed for use by car club vehicles and will be ready for use later this year.
Public charge points will also be installed later this year at various locations across Bristol with many more to follow over the next three years.
Businesses are being urged to look at ways they can start using electric vehicles, including car-clubs, scrappage schemes and other funding mechanisms.
For more information and a map of existing charging points, visit the TravelWest website https://travelwest.info/drive/electric-vehicles
By last December some 137,000 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles had been registered in the UK, including about 5,100 plug-in commercial vans. At October 2016, the UK had 11,903 public charging points at 4,215 stations, of which 696 were rapid chargers.
Pictured: Two of the city council’s Nissan Leaf zero-emission cars with staff outside City Hall
