New research from fleet telematics company Geotab has shown that 20% of UK local authorities haven’t even started their transition to an electric fleet. This is despite government incentives and grant funding to support the changeover.
When a council makes a move towards something like this, from better pay for their staff to the EV revolution, local companies follow, this is a case of councils not leading their areas by example.
Research findings
Geotab sent Freedom of Information requests out to 113 local authorities around the UK, 10 each from eight regions and all London boroughs. It complied the data and extrapolated across the country. From this the research showed:
- Just four local authorities have fleets comprising more than 20% electric vehicles.
- 54% have fewer than 50 chargers including public, home, and depot chargers.
- 46% had yet to set a date when they expect to have a fleet of 100% electric vehicles.
Government grants
In the company car tax scheme, officers can get an EV cheaply as a company car for example
Government grants are out there that pay for amongst other things, charging equipment. This is big enough to exceed the fewer than 50 chargers had by the 54% of local authorities, and there is also support for buying the EVs themselves.
One clear example is the company car tax scheme, officers can get an EV cheaply as a company car for example, and a Dorset Council officer is hardly going to be driving to Edinburgh three times a month on business!
Older Generation Councillors?
There is a saying that the older you get, the wider your waistline grows and the narrower your mind becomes.
Given a high proportion of councilors in the UK tend to be older (and of narrower mind) this may well be the reason for their reticence to take the ‘free money’ from the central government and to get on with the transition to fully electric vehicle fleets.
Old ways of governance
Watching certain councils there tends to be a ‘family network’ that allows somewhat surprising decisions to be made that don’t always follow the transparent and logical decision-making processes. A company with no financial resources to complete a contract may be awarded it for example, not unlike Chris Grayling awarding a UK - EU ferry contract to a company without any ships.
Given such old ways of governance, it is really quite unsurprising that confronted with a big new world of transport, the wide-waisted, narrow-minded decision-makers in towns and counties aren’t doing well in the EV Revolution.
