Scottish authorities introduce 12 LEAFs

Four local authorities in Scotland are now using electric Nissan LEAFs to reduce their carbon emissions, improve air quality and significantly reduce fuel costs.

The four Scottish authorities are NHS Tayside, Dundee City Council, Perth & Kinross Council and Dumfries and Galloway Council, who were helped by a grant from Transport Scotland to buy a total of 12 electric Nissan LEAFs.

NHS Tayside will be running two Nissan LEAFs for its health professionals. Sustainability Champion and Chairman of NHS Tayside Sandy Watson said, “Last year NHS Tayside spent over half a million pounds on fuel for its fleet of vehicles and money we save on fuel will go towards other healthcare priorities.”

“The timely delivery of these two new electric vehicles will help towards reducing NHS Tayside’s emissions as they create less pollution than petrol or diesel powered cars, and are an environmentally-friendly alternative, as well as being cost-effective.”

In Dundee, employees at the City Council are now using four Nissan LEAFs which make up part of its car pool scheme. The council there found that the LEAF could meet all their requirements of a pool car, including large boot space and sufficient range to be able to travel into Glasgow.

In Perth & Kinross, the council has also added four Nissan LEAFs to its pool car fleet. Bill Morton, Perth & Kinross Council’s Fleet Manager said: “The decision to invest in the Nissan LEAF has been crucial towards helping us meet our aims to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.”

Further south in Dumfries and Galloway, an additional two Nissan LEAFs have been added to the council’s pool car fleet. The council was the first in the UK to have a LEAF to its fleet last year and already has two charging points installed on its properties and is in the process of installing a further four. In addition to these, the council has committed to install a further 10 public charging points across the city including one Rapid Charger, which can charge the LEAF’s battery up to 80% capacity in less than 30 minutes.

As many councils have already discovered, electric vehicles can be an effective way to reduce fuel bills and both CO2 and other emissions. With the UK’s charging infrastructure quickly expanding and the technology improving, electric cars are replacing conventional cars in more and more vehicle fleets.

Newspress