'EVs & cyclists allowed in bus lanes'
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2016-01/25/electric-cars-bus-lanes Electric cars to be allowed in UK bus lanes 25 January 16 Matt Burgess [image http://cdni.wired.co.uk/1240x826/k_n/london%20bus.jpg Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images ] London, Milton Keynes, Bristol, and Nottingham will share £40 million from the government to improve electric vehicle infrastructure. As part of the initiative, drivers of electric cars will also be allowed to drive in bus lanes. The money, from the government's Go Ultra Low City Scheme, will mostly be used to install new electric car service stations and street lights that double as charging points. Thousands of parking spaces will also be made free for electric cars, including 20,000 in Milton Keynes alone. The government has been keen to push electric vehicles, but efforts have largely failed to capture public attention. The National Charge Point Registry, which details the number of public charging points for electric vehicles in the UK, shows there are 7,179 connectors spread across the country. And despite the government subsidising electric vehicle purchases, fewer than 28,000 were registered in the UK during the first four years of the scheme. The majority of the new £40m funding has been handed to London, with smaller schemes to install charging points and create new low emissions zones also being funded. London: £13m to turn "over a dozen" Hackney streets electric and give Harrow a low emission zone Milton Keynes: £9m to create a EV "experience centre", making 20,000 parking bays free for EV owners and allowing them to drive in bus lanes Bristol: £7m to give free parking to low emissions vehicles and 80 fast chargers Nottinghamshire and Derby: £6m to install 230 charging points and give owners access to bus lanes Dundee, Oxford and York will also share £5m to spend on electric vehicles. Areas with especially strong electric vehicle take-up could eventually introduce "electric highways", which would allow cars to be wirelessly charged as they are driven. [© wired.co.uk] http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/fleet-industry-news/2016/01/25/eight-cities-share-40-million-fund-to-boost-plug-in-car-uptake Free parking and use of bus lanes to incentivise plug-in vehicle uptake 25/01/2016 [video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtbXth9xS9k Government announces eight cities to share £40m in funding to promote ultra low emission motoring BroadcastExchange Jan 25, 2016 Government announces eight cities to share £40m in funding to promote ultra low emission motoring The Department of Transport will on 25th January announce the eight winning British cities that will share a forty million pound investment for the UK’s first ‘Go Ultra Low Cities’ scheme. Set up by the Government and led by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), the £40 million Go Ultra Low Cities scheme is rewarding eight cities that have presented outstanding proposals to boost the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles in their regions. Through their bids, four of the winning cities have demonstrated further potential to achieve ‘exemplar status’. Local authorities in Bristol, London, Milton Keynes and Nottingham are set to receive substantial funding for investment that ministers hope will position the UK among the world’s leading markets for low emission cars and vans. The Go Ultra Low Cities scheme is also providing funding to Dundee, Oxford, York and North East regions to implement elements of their bids, assist them in developing their low-emission transport strategies and enhance local charging infrastructure. All winning cities are likely to see thousands of new ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) on their roads over the next five years as a result, improving air quality and helping to transform people’s quality of life in their regions. A variety of inventive proposals have been put forward by local authorities from across the UK, many of which are scalable and can be introduced in towns and cities nationwide. Initiatives featured in the bids include: • EV experience and demonstration fleets for trial of electric vehicles (eg Milton Keynes will have 150 vehicles) • Creation of a Ultra Low Emission Zones for city centres • Replacing existing council fleets with pure electric and ultra low emission models • Free or discounted parking for ULEVs • Use of bus lanes for low emission vehicles including priority at traffic lights • On-street community charging facilities in locations where charging is presently impractical or limited • Enhancing usability and benefits for low-emission car club members with greater charging and parking options • Energy-efficient LED street lights that double-up as electric vehicle charge points • Removing license fees for taxis that are ULEVs • Support for local car clubs to provide further parking bays and charging infrastructure • ULEV business support programme to incentivise private sector uptake of low emission vehicles In March 2015, 12 cities were shortlisted to share £35 million of government funding and become the UK’s first ‘Go Ultra Low Cities’. The four main winning bids were subsequently chosen from: City of York Council; Department for Regional Development of Northern Ireland; Dundee City Council; Greater London Authority; Leicester City Council; Milton Keynes Council; North East Combined Authority; Nottingham City Council; Oxford City Council Sheffield City Council; West of England; West Yorkshire Combined Authority. In the autumn, it was decided that extra funding would be made available to seed-fund projects in four further cities. The cities receiving funding are: • Bristol £7m • London £13m • Milton Keynes £9m • Nottingham £6m • Dundee £1.86m • North East £1.5m • Oxford £800k • York £800k ] Free parking and use of bus lanes are among the initiatives being considered as part of a £40 million scheme to increase the uptake of electric vehicles in eight cities. The Government today named Bristol, London, Milton Keynes and Nottingham as ’Go Ultra Low Cities’ as the main benefactors of the scheme, with Dundee, the north east, Oxford and York sharing seed funding for EV specific projects. Cities secured funding by pledging innovative ideas and as part of the initiative will deliver a roll-out of technology, such as rapid-charging hubs and street lighting that can double as charging points, along with a range of proposals that will give plug-in car owners further local privileges such as access to bus lanes in city centres. Among the successful cities’ bids, London was awarded £13 million to create ‘neighbourhoods of the future’, prioritising ULEVs in several boroughs across the capital. Proposals include low emission zones that offer parking and traffic priority to owners of plug-in vehicles. Milton Keynes will receive £9m to open a city centre electric vehicle experience centre, a ‘one stop shop’ providing consumer advice and short-term vehicle loans. The city also proposes to open up all 20,000 parking bays for free to EVs, give plug-in vehicles the same priority at traffic lights as local buses, while also having access to bus lanes. With a £7m grant secured, Bristol will give ULEVs access to three carpool lanes in the city and introduce a plug-in car leasing scheme. Nottinghamshire and Derby will use £6m of funding to install 230 charge points and offer plug-in owners discount parking, plus access to bus lanes in key routes across the city. The investment will also pay for a new business support programme letting local companies ‘try before they buy’. The scheme is also providing £5m of development funding for specific initiatives in Dundee, Oxford, York and north east regions to help them play their part in kick-starting a country-wide clean motoring revolution. New commuter charging hubs in Dundee will open up links across the region for plug-in vehicle owners, while solar-canopied Park and Ride hubs in York will help reduce air pollution in and around the city. 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 £40m investment by government, combined with funds from each winning area, will transform the roads for residents in and around the Go Ultra Low cities. “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 comprehensive £600m package of measures from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles by 2020, which also includes £400m of guaranteed money for individual plug-in car grants, investment in low emission buses and taxis and R&D funding for innovative technology such as lighter vehicles and longer-lasting car batteries. [© fleetnews.co.uk] ... http://road.cc/content/news/176460-cyclists-share-bus-lanes-electric-cars-milton-keynes-and-derby Cyclists to share bus lanes with electric cars in Milton Keynes and Derby January 25 2016 Electric cars are to be allowed in bus lanes in Derby and Milton Keynes. Currently private cars and other types of vehicle are banned from such lanes ... http://road.cc/sites/default/files/styles/main_width/public/bmw-i3-electric-car-licensed-cc-2.0-karlis-dambris-flickr.jpg?itok=1lj2KS2Y For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Free-parking-use-of-UK-bus-lanes-incentivize-plugin-uptake-v-tp4680108.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
