Van-tastic! Combined Authority’s new electric fleet heralded during Net Zero Week

Nine new fully electric vehicles are the latest addition to the Combined Authority’s (CA) fleet – unveiled during Net Zero Week (6 – 12 July), the UK’s official national awareness week.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has invested over a quarter of a million pounds in seven zero-emission electric vans and two pool cars to replace ten ageing, diesel vehicles in its fleet – helping to slash diesel fuel usage by 50% and remove an estimated 12,000kg of carbon emissions from the air each year.

Cllr Steve Foulkes, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport Committee, said:

“We have a responsibility to cut our carbon emissions, rapidly decarbonise and, ultimately, to save our planet.

“We want the Liverpool City Region to be at the forefront of the green industrial revolution, which is why Mayor Steve Rotheram has targeted making our city region Net Zero by 2035.

“In the last few years we’ve made huge strides forward, with £10m funding to expand electric vehicle charging across the Liverpool City Region, dedicated funding to bring dozens of fully-electric double-decker buses to our region’s roads and of course our pioneering fleet of publicly owned, all-electric battery powered trains.

“But there is still much more that we can do – and that includes doing our bit at the Combined Authority to reduce emissions, cut carbon and improve air quality. We are delighted to see our new zero-emission fleet hit the road, ready to keep our Tunnels and estate in tip-top condition.”

The cleaner, greener machines are based at the Wallasey depot and will be used to maintain, inspect and carry out work on the Mersey Tunnels and the authority’s wider estate of buildings, roads and bus hubs – vital work that takes place 24/7, 365 days a year to keep the public moving safely across the region’s transport network.

Cheaper to run and better for the environment, the new arrivals are also fast to recharge, after new charging points were installed at the CA’s depot earlier this year.

The ‘green renewal’ of the CA’s fleet forms part of its commitment to net zero. A further £130,000 will be invested later this year, to purchase three more vehicles including a new gulley cleaner and road sweeper.

The Liverpool City Region was the first in the country to declare a climate emergency and Mayor Rotheram has set the region an ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2035 – the most ambitious target in the country.