Milton Keynes: Boosting electric car use towards “ultra-low emission” mobility

Energy Cities’ member city of Milton Keynes (UK) was selected, based on its city-specific plan, as winner of the Go Ultra Low City Scheme which aims to boost electric car use in the country. This is part of the eco-cities funding to support the British industry and achieve the ambition of almost every car, bus and van in the UK being ultra-low emission by 2050, as explained by Transport Minister Andrew Jones.

Key features of the MK proposal are:
• Free parking for ULEV (ultra-low emission vehicles) in MK
• Charging Hubs, where vehicles can be fully recharged in around 30 minutes
• Charging posts close to residential areas
• An EV experience centre where potential owners can try before they buy
• Priority for ULEV, in bus lanes and
• Destination charging – targeting key popular locations such as supermarkets, hotels and leisure facilities.

Milton Keynes will receive £9 million to open a Electric Vehicle Experience Centre– a ‘one stop shop’ providing consumer advice and short-term vehicles loans. The city also proposes to open up all 20,000 parking bays for free to EVs and co-brand bus lanes as low emission lanes giving plug-in vehicles the same priority at traffic lights as local buses

The other 3 cities selected to benefit from the the Go Ultra Low City Scheme are Nottingham, Bristol and London. The scheme is also providing 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.
The cities will implement a range of schemes that the government hopes will provide examples for other UK cities and regions to follow.

Another Energy Cities member, Bristol, got £7 million to offer residents free residential parking for ULEVs, access to 3 carpool lanes in the city, over 80 rapid and fast chargers across the city and a scheme encouraging people to lease a plug-in car for up to 4 weeks to help them better understand the range of benefits that electric vehicles bring.

The Go Ultra Low campaign is the first of its kind, bringing together the Department for Transport (DfT), the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and a consortium of seven car manufacturers – Audi, BMW, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Toyota and Volkswagen.

Source: Growing MK
© photo: Simon, cyclestreets