Sandwell Council adding electric cars to its fleet
Sandwell Council has announced it will be replacing diesel vehicles with electric cars or hybrids.
Two new electrical cars have recently been added to the authority's fleet.
Plans are in place to replace at least 30 diesel vehicles over the next year with electric and hybrid alternatives.
There are also plans to increase the number of charging points for fleet vehicles to cover different office locations.
Staff at Sandwell Council use the vehicles for a variety of purposes such as travelling from office sites across the borough to carrying out home visits.
These cars can be charged using specific charging points or by using a traditional three-point plug.
As part of Clean Air Day on Thursday 20 June, council staff will be given the chance to test drive the electric cars in the hope to increase the use of these vehicles work purposes and encourage people to replace their own cars.
Councillor Jackie Taylor, cabinet member for sustainable transport, said: "We have had some very positive feedback about our new electric cars and with a range of around 160 miles, they are perfect for staff who visit multiple sites as part of their job.
"Replacing vehicles when they reach the end of their lease period with electric cars will certainly reduce the amount of carbon emissions and cut our fuel bills.
"As larger vehicles come to the end of their lease period, if electric isn't an option we will look to replace them with the lowest emission alternative.
"We all need to do our bit to improve air quality in Sandwell and the introduction of more electric cars for council staff is part of our wider plan to use more renewable energy rather than fossil fuels."
