City of York Council’s commitment to lead the way in tackling emissions from road vehicles has taken a step forward with a successful bid to take part in the Energy Saving Trust’s Plugged-in Fleets initiative in partnership with EDF Energy.

City of York Council is one of only three local authorities in the country to be awarded this funding and the only one outside London. The authority has joined 19 other organisations across England in the scheme – which is funded by Transport for London (TfL) and Department for Transport (DfT) – and will receive free guidance on how electric vehicles can add value to its organisation, and a strategic plan for the introduction of the vehicles into their fleet.

Experts from Energy Saving Trust and EDF Energy will analyse the council’s fleet to identify where electric vehicles could best be used and will provide advice on vehicle recharging.

Transport Minister Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) said: “Electric vehicles are an essential part of the low-carbon revolution and I am pleased that we have been able to work with the Energy Saving Trust’s on its new ‘plugged-in’ electric vehicles scheme.

“The number of electric vehicles on the market is growing all the time and fleets are already leading the way with adoption of these new technologies – this scheme will make that easier by giving fleet managers the information they need to pick the right vehicle for their business.”

The initiative has three key aims:
• To provide a tailored report for each participating fleet, showing how electric vehicles could fit into and benefit their organisation
• To offer wider practical advice for all business fleets: our findings and case studies from the initiative will be published in a final report
• To enable fleet decision makers to purchase and use electric vehicles where they work best.

Kate Armitage, Electric Vehicle Manager, EDF Energy says: “We are delighted to share our infrastructure expertise to support the smooth implementation of low carbon fleets.”

Caroline Watson of the Energy Saving Trust added: “Our recent Plugged-in Fleets report has shown that organisations can save money now when selectively introducing electric vehicles within their fleets, and our Fleet Advice team can provide practical and impartial recommendations to help companies achieve this.

“City of York Council, and the 19 other selected companies, are committed to supporting the environment by building a greener fleet, and we look forward to helping make this a reality.”