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Archived Press Release
Originally created on: Tuesday 29 September, 2009
Press release Tuesday, 29 September 2009
City plugs into the future
Brighton & Hove is unveiling its first electric vehicle charging point in Brighton on Friday, 2 October.
In the first project of this scale in the UK outside of London, Brighton & Hove is installing 10 on-street electric vehicle charging points across the city.
Brighton & Hove’s leader, councillor Mary Mears, will cut the ribbon on the first installation in Bartholomews, Brighton.
Electric vehicle charging points have been partially funded from the European Civitas scheme, so the project in Brighton & Hove is ahead of the funding announced recently by the Energy Technologies Institute earlier this month.
Following installation, the council will be setting up a registration scheme to trial the scheme with electric car users. It is expected to be up and running from November 2009.
Brighton & Hove won £2.2 million to invest in small-scale transport projects and is the only city in the country to win European money from the Civitas Archimedes Project for such schemes. Council officers are working with five other cities in Europe to share best practice, experience and skills.
Councillor Mears said: “Brighton & Hove really is at the forefront of creative and innovative transport schemes. We’re successful because we have a reputation as a market leader in transport policy and putting it into practice.
“Brighton & Hove has 15 small projects for which we have won funding, ranging from car sharing improvements and road safety, to public transport information for visually impaired people.
“We’re proud to be able to share our expertise with other countries on how to achieve a clean and energy-efficient transport system. It’s exciting to think that what we do here will influence future transport policy, not only in the UK but also in Europe.”
Representatives from Denmark, Spain, Romania, Czech Republic and Italy will be visiting the city for three days and the electric vehicle charging points are one of the projects they will see.
They will also get a demonstration of Brighton & Hove’s ‘talking bus stops.’ Civitas is helping to fund a further 12 locations, which provide bus information to visually impaired people at the touch of a key fob, helping them to move around the city independently.
The delegation will take part in a discussion at Brighton Town Hall on how sustainable transport solutions can help support economic recovery through improved mobility and access whilst reducing the environmental impact.
Other projects in Brighton & Hove funded by Civitas include:
- Working with freight companies to investigate ways of moving goods through the city in a more energy-efficient way
- Monitoring vehicle emissions in schools through electronic signs so that pupils can learn about emissions, carbon footprints and travel choice
- Expanding existing car sharing and car club opportunities into outlying areas of the city
- A road safety campaign targeted at groups shown to be especially at risk of traffic accidents
Brighton & Hove bus company has also won Civitas funding to develop an integrated ticketing system, like London’s Oyster card, where people can use the same ticket on the bus and train.
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