Suffolk County Council has announced that it is launching a trial that will see residents able to access electric vehicles on a short-term basis.
Launching next summer, electric vehicles will be placed across eight different locations around the county. Residents will then be able to book to use these vehicles by the minute, hour, or day to promote the benefits of electric vehicles, whilst contributing to wider public sector climate goals.
Some of these benefits, which have been realised in other parts of the country as part of similar projects, include improved air quality, reduced traffic congestion, and increased mobility for those who do not have access to their own car.
One previous example has been seen in Oxfordshire, where a year-long trial was started in April 2023 – before being extended until the end of September this year thanks to its promising results. Alongside the benefits to the climate, the pilot in Oxfordshire was well priced, with users typically paying as little as £5 per hour, or 12p per mile travelled.
Chair of Suffolk Public Sector Leaders, Cllr Neil MacDonald, said:
“Suffolk residents have been asking about the possibility of bringing Car Clubs to Suffolk following the recent success of the Car Club trial in Oxfordshire, therefore I am looking forward to the launch of our trial.
“I am hoping that many individuals and families will benefit from the scheme and help to bring electric community vehicles permanently to our county.”
The programme will be jointly funded by public sector organisations across the county, with this being required due to a reluctance from EV providers to fully fund community vehicles in rural communities such as Suffolk. This is thanks to a lack of real-world data to support the rollout of such a programme.
Additional funding will also be committed to the delivery of additional EV charging infrastructure, with this coming by way of the On-Street Residential Charge Point Scheme, from the Department for Transport.
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