Clegg outlines low emission vehicle plans
Funding worth around £500 million available for schemes to boost uptake of low emission vehicles in UK
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has today (April 29) announced a package of £500 million of funding to boost the ultra low emission vehicle in the UK, and increase consumer confidence in using electric cars.
Mr Clegg visited the Transport Research Laboratory in Wokingham this morning with Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander to see how low emission cars are tested and to speak to industry leaders and to unveil the plans.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has outlined further support for low emission vehicles
According to the Liberal Democrat leader the investment of £500 million between 2015 and 2020 will create jobs, reduce emissions and set the agenda for the industry, for our towns and cities, and for motorists, so that Britain remains ‘at the forefront of green technology’.
‘Ultra Low status’
Around £35 million of the funding will be awarded to cities with ‘Ultra Low status’ where schemes such as incentives for drivers of green cars such as letting them use bus lanes or allowing them to park for free are introduced. Additional funding of £50 million will also be available for local areas to invest in cleaner taxis and buses.
The government has also pledged £100 million in research and development in ULEV and a further £32 million funding boost for charging infrastructure including plans to install rapid charge-points across the ‘M’ and ‘A’ road network by 2020 so that drivers can find a rapid charge-point when they need one.
Announcing the plans, Mr Clegg, said: “The UK has the potential to emerge as a world leader in the development, design and manufacture of green vehicles.
“Owning an electric car is no longer a dream or an inconvenience. Manufacturers are turning to this new technology to help motorists make their every day journeys green and clean.
“This major investment is there to make driving an electric car affordable, convenient, and free from anxiety about the battery running out. But it’s also about creating a culture change in our towns and cities so that driving a greener vehicle is a no-brainer for most drivers.”
So Clegg & Alexander have decided that the Lib Dems will compound the error of Gordon Brown in putting our taxes into subsidising technology that depends to a large extent upon fossil fuel and encourages further taxes.
Plug in cars are unpopular with the general public for a number of reasons not least because of their inflexibility (short range) and their unresponsiveness when driving these cars.
If the money were put into establishing the only truly sustainable fuel, hydrogen fuel cell technology, there would be far less pollution, more public support and satisfaction.
My local supermarket has had two, free, plug in charging points in its car park for the past 18 months. They have never been used. There are parking bays on our streets in London, solely for plug in cars. They are the only empty parking bays in central London.
If, with elections coming up, people will be swayed to vote Lib Dem and endorse this policy, they are mistaken.