Bristol businesses can trial electric vehicles for free

Companies are being offered the chance to trial electric vehicles for up to two months in a bid to tackle air pollution.

Designed to encourage businesses and organisations to switch to greener alternatives to diesel fuel, the new £3.2m scheme is being run by Bristol City Council and is fully funded by National Highways.

Launching just ahead of the introduction of a clean air zone, it will run for two years and aims to give company bosses the chance to see how electric cars or vans could work for their business.

Under the new measures to tackle air pollution that are set to come into play in September this year, non-compliant vehicles will be charged to enter an area of the city centre that covers the city centre, a portion of Old Market and just south of the river.

Speaking about the launch of the new free trial offer, mayor Marvin Rees said: “We all want to reduce air pollution across our city and getting older, more polluting vehicles off our streets is essential in making our city a healthier place to live.

“Not only are electric vehicles better for the environment, they’re also cheaper to run and maintain than traditional diesel and petrol vehicles. Borrowing one of our electric vehicles over a longer period of time gives drivers the chance to see for themselves how the technology supporting electric vehicles has advanced and become more accessible.

“Our free electric vehicle hire scheme is a great way for organisations to investigate the possibility of switching to electric without committing huge funds up front. In addition, the support and guidance from our in-house experts will help local organisations find the best solutions for them.”

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The council says more than 300 organisations have already signed up for more information on the scheme. Eligible businesses, charities and voluntary organisations can apply to borrow one of a range of vehicles, with full insurance included. Vans, taxis and electric cars are all available.

Each electric vehicle is fitted with a device that provides detailed journey and charging data to help company bosses understand how they’ve used the vehicle.

Bristol Veg Boxes was the first business to take one of the vehicles on loan.

Director Andrew Wilkinson said: “We are very excited about the prospect of testing a new electric van. Thanks to Bristol City Council we can now better assess the electric vehicle capacity to see how well it holds up with our heavy load and multi-drop deliveries.”

The council says limited additional funding is available to pay for charge points for early participants who commit to buying at least one electric vehicle after their loan ends.

Company bosses interested in borrowing an electric vehicle can find out whether their organisation will qualify and apply via www.travelwest.info/electricvans.

Main photo: Bristol City Council

Read more: Bristol’s clean air zone ‘likely to launch in September 2022’

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