Rotherham Council’s cabinet is set to approve plans to commit to buy 64 new EVs as part of the next stage of the vehicle fleet refresh.
Proposals will be presented at the Cabinet meeting on Monday 20 March 2023 and will outline a long-term phased approach to the buying or renting of vehicles as well as the operation, maintenance, replacement, and disposal of Council fleet. The plans also include bringing more electric vehicles into the fleet where possible during the first phase.
The move to reduce the carbon impact of vehicles emphasises the Council’s commitment for carbon emissions to be at net zero by 2030. In October 2019, the Council passed a motion to declare a climate emergency and outlined in the Year Ahead Plan 2022-23 its aims to reduce emissions.
Currently, the Council operates a diverse range of 337 vehicles and plant equipment across 22 departments, including bin collection lorries, vans and cars. The Council aims to refresh 35% of the current fleet by 2025/26 to support the net zero by 2030 commitment.
The Council’s Cabinet member for Transport and Environment, Cllr Dominic Beck, said: “By introducing new and upgrading current vehicles, we will be able to ensure a continued services across key areas, such as street cleaning and waste disposal, with less impact on the environment.
“Refreshing the Council’s fleet with greener, more fuel economic vehicles is just one of the many things we are doing to make Rotherham a net zero borough, and also compliments other projects such as our commitment to planting more trees and supporting active travel schemes that will bring a wide scope of benefits to residents.”
The Council’s Cabinet member for Jobs and the Local Economy, Cllr Denise Lelliott, said: “With electric and hybrid vehicles becoming more widely available in a variety of different types, it is natural that the Council moves to adopt more of these into its fleet. We’ve already worked to install electric charging points across the borough, including in some of our town centre car parks.”
For more information about what the Council is doing in response to the climate emergency, go online to www.rotherham.gov.uk/homepage/261/tackling-climate-change.
