The British government confirmed funding of £3 million to First Bus for 18 new zero-emission buses in Leicester today. Wrightbus will manufacture the electric buses in Northern Ireland. This latest investment will enable an all-electric fleet at First Bus’s depot in Leicester.
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The British transport company First Bus has ordered another 117 electric buses from the Northern Irish bus manufacturer Wrightbus. The buses will go into operation in four cities. The purchase was made possible by additional funding from the British government.
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An independent councillor has accused the administration of the English city of York of “hiding” unused electric vehicles and showed pictures of several electric vehicles parked on a former landfill site as proof.
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In the UK, public transport provider First Bus is partnering with conversion company Equipmake to retrofit 12 of the operators existing diesel buses with electric drives. The buses are to be converted and operated in the York region.
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British transport company First Bus has ordered 193 electric buses worth £81 million from Northern Irish bus builder Wrightbus. The order is part-funded through the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme.
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York joins the expanding ranks of UK cities running e-scooter trials and has selected Tier Mobility to run the sharing offer on its streets. The University of York will receive the first kick scooters in a few weeks.
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The UK-based public transport operator First Bus launched the roll out of the so-far biggest zero emission park and ride fleet in the UK. A total of 21 new all-electric double-deckers will enter service on the York Park & Ride network.
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UK transport secretary Grant Shapps announced the government wants at least one city centre to be restricted exclusively to bikes and electric vehicles. In York, councillors are calling for York to bid to become the first such zero-emission city.
Read moreYork goes full on in: 24 new electric buses shall come to York supported by the British government with 3.3m pounds through the Low Emission Bus Scheme. They will join an 11 strong electric bus fleet already in operation in the English town and 18 of the new models are double-deckers. Once the order is fulfilled, York says its will have the country’s first fully electric Park & Ride fleet.
yorkpress.co.uk, itv.com
Fortum to expand in India: For Finnish Fortum India is its next destination and a pilot with EV charging stations is planned this October. The energy firm has set eyes on large cities like Mumbai and Bangalore to install about 150 charging stations, including DC fast-chargers over the next 12 – 18 months in attempt to “figure out the landscape,” Fortum India’s MD Sanjay Aggarwal said.
economictimes.indiatimes.com
Smart move: Oxford City Council has commenced to install 100 EV charging stations in residential streets across the city. They are part of a trial and their use will be monitored by researchers from the University of Oxford’s Transport Studies Unit (TSU).
oxfordtimes.co.uk
Electrification in Luxembourg accelerates with the government aiming to electrify ten percent of its fleet of 1,700 vehicles. The first 15 – 20 hybrid and electric vehicles have already arrived.
delano.lu
Plugless in Sweden: Evatran is about to start a test run with its wireless charging system Plugless. More than 20 inductive chargers will be delivered to the Swedish cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Uppsala as part of the 18-month research project WiCh. The goal is to determine what effect wireless charging has on EV usage.
fleetsandfuels.com, pluglesspower.com
Sharing is charging: Dutch Fastned is trying to win investors by offering free charging for a lifetime. The offer is valid for everyone who buys at least 2,500 shares, priced at 10 euros each.
fastnedpr.pr.co
Renault goes to Seoul: Renault-Samsung has won the bid to deliver 40 electric taxis to the Korean capital this year. The SM3 Z.E. will help the government reach its own goal. It had announced that of 25% of newly acquired vehicles for government and public-service use will be electric.
whowired.com
Green sightseeing: British York put a newly converted electric bus into service. The City Sightseeing open top bus, formerly a diesel, is now available for city tours. If successful, another five electric buses might follow.
yorkpress.co.uk
Extended fleet: The University of Dundee is expanding its electric fleet, adding three more electric vans and 12 electric bikes. The vehicles are paid for with a 70,000-pound funding package (108,558 USD) from Transport Scotland. The university now has seven electric vans, one electric car and a hybrid flatbed truck. The bikes are available to students as well as staff.
evfleetworld.co.uk
10,000 EVs for Switzerland: Basel is to become an EV paradise in the Alpine republic, at least if plans of utility provider Elektra Baselland (EBL) and a cantonal bank will go ahead. Up to 10,000 electric vehicles are to arrive in the streets of the city through increased promotional activities as well as the installation of one charging station in each community EBL supplies. The utility hopes to not only deliver electricity but also to use the electric vehicle batteries for energy storage in the long run.
nzz.ch (in German)
First bid for postal fleet: USPS’ plan to replace its entire fleet of 180,000 vehicles has got a respond. AMP pointed out potential cost savings to the United States Postal Service if it would use E-GEN electric trucks and HorseFly drones. The company says it has the capacity to produce 60,000 vehicles annually.
globenewswire.com
Breaking news: The first electric bus fast-charged via CCS is now operating in Sweden. VDL Bus & Coach just delivered the Citea Electric Bus together with a CCS fast-charging station by Heliox offering up to 120 kW to the Swedish transport provider Byberg & Nordin.
Source: Information via email
York is to convert five diesel buses to electric as it has been awarded 475,000 pounds in government funding. The city estimates the buses will save 75,000 pounds annually. York has just been shortlisted in the run-up for the 35-million fund for ULEV centres of excellence (we reported).
airqualitynews.com
Energetic exchange: The California Energy Commission and the Dutch Province of Noord-Holland agreed to work together on transportation energy projects. Areas of exchange will include models for EV charging infrastructure and solutions for multi-unit dwellings as well as the Dutch SolaRoad.
greencarcongress.com, energy.ca.gov (agreement), solaroad.nl (SolaRoad)
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Dutch to charge Germany: Fastned is to build 60 charging stations along German highways as it has received a 2 million euro subsidy by the European Union. The initiative by the Dutch company will take several years as it requires German permits.
nltimes.nl, fastned.nl
Green cabs in York: Streamline Taxis has traded in a number of diesel taxis to replace them with ten hybrids and one electric car. The move was supported by the city council as part of a scheme launched in 2013 which offers taxi companies discounts off the purchase price of green taxis.
yorkpress.co.uk
9 million dollars could be saved if Edmonton would replace its transit with 250 electric buses, a new report suggests. Edmonton Transit has been testing two electric buses since May and so far they have proven successful. Testing is to continue for another two years.
edmontonjournal.com
Car sharing in India: Zoomcar or Myles are just two of new Indian car sharing start-ups which are becoming more common in the ‘Tiger State’. Zoomcar operates a fleet of 300 vehicles in Bangalore and Pune, including some electric Mahindra Reva e2o.
eco-business.com
Electrified shuttle service: BMW and hotel chain Fairmont in Beijing have signed cooperation. For the coming three months, hotel guests can use the i3-shuttles for a ride to the airport or to tour parts of the city.
rushlane.com, asiatraveltips.com
Seeing electric: The city of York has electrified its diesel sightseeing buses. Moreover, it claims to now have the only double-decker gone electric worldwide. The was converted by Sheffield-based Magtec and uses lithium-ion batteries that allow for all-day operation without recharging.
yorkshirepost.co.uk
No electric Car2go for Copenhagen: The carsharing service will kick-off in the Danish capital on September 17th. It is the first Scandinavian city to get Daimler’s carsharing scheme. Unfortunately, the 200 Smart cars will all be petrol-powered. Too bad, since Copenhagen has quite some charging infrastructure.
media.daimler.com
Two charging points for Burlingame: The Californian city will soon get two dual cord Level-2 EV charging stations by ChargePoint. These will be installed by REJ Electric on city-owned property, in the city’s downtown area. Because there was no power available at the selected site, the installation costs total 49,363 dollars.
smdailyjournal.com
Telefonix focuses efficiency: The company’s L2 PowerPost has now received UL approval. It is a low-current Level-2 charging station, designed especially for commercial use and long-term parking. It is also said to be more cost efficient than other stations, since it only charges with 20 amps, which allows for the installation of more stations with a given electrical supply.
chargedevs.com
Iran to be electrified: Apparently, the government in Tehran plans to replace most of the country’s motorbikes with 400,000 electric ones. Manufacturer will get subsidies of 300 dollars for every e-bike built. The plan also includes a ban of petrol-powered motorcycles in the capital’s centre.
tehrantimes.com, dailytimes.com.pk
New Delhi to be electrified, too: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has issued a proposal to set up 65 charging stations across the city. Once the EV chargers are approved by the Delhi government, constructions of the stations, which are financed with the help of public private partnerships (PPP) can begin.
thehindu.com
Electric car club: The city of Dundee, Scotland, is looking at expanding and electrifying its car sharing with money from TACTRAN and Transport Scotland. The money for maintenance of the cars and operation of the scheme would come from an annual charge for the members. A business plan has yet to be agreed upon.
thecourier.co.uk
A ride around town: Electragirl travelled all the way to York to try the city’s new electric bus. While she does not travel too well on public transport – electric or not – the bus runs smoothly and silently and is charged via cable at a CHAdeMO DC fast charger.
transportevolved.com
Campus charging: By 2015, Cal Poly’s campus will feature twelve EV charging stations, paid for with a 150,000-dollar grant from the California Energy Commission. Apart from students, also travellers from the near Highway 101 and Highway 1 will be welcome to use the stations.
sanluisobispo.com
Leading by e-xample: According to a new plan, 50% of the government fleet in France is to be plug-in hybrid or electric by 2016. Translated to numbers, the French government is eventually looking at about 2,500 plug-in vehicles. Currently, alternative fuel vehicles account for 25% of the federal fleet.
insideevs.com
EV home charging: A 100-dollar incentive is offered by the city of Ashland, Oregon to new home owners who agree to install an EV home charger. Eligible are only homes built to energy efficiency standards that often include solar panels.
dailytidingschargedevs.com
Rapid charging in York: The council of the City of York has installed five quick charging stations in Yorkshire. The stations were funded mainly by the Office of Low Emission Vehicles. Users will be charged 0.15 pounds (0.25 dollars) per kWh through the ChargeYourCar service on pay as you go basis.
airqualitynews.com, chargeyourcar.org.uk
Lawyers gone green: The law firm Arnall Golden Gregory employs 150 attorneys of which at least nine are now driving Nissan Leafs. Bill Moore has spoken to two of them on their reasoning behind going electric – it was not a company’s initiative – and what they think of Atlanta’s EV rebate programme.
evworld.com (with video interview)
Residential electric carsharing: Austria’s ‘Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft BIG’ (federal real estate agency) is looking at adding one EV by a “premium manufacturer” to every 40 apartments built. The luxury electric car would be available to all residents to share free of charge. BIG is currently negotiating to start the project in two developments in the Austrian cities of Vienna and Graz already this year.
kurier.at (in German)
