Bury gears up for electric cars

Bury Council is driving towards green transport by installing electric vehicle charging points in seven of its public car parks.

This is part of the Greater Manchester Electric Vehicle scheme which will set up a charging point network across the conurbation.

Work to install the points should be completed by the end of June and be operating by the summer, providing residents and visitors with the means to charge their electric vehicles.

The seven car parks in Bury are at: The Castle, Bolton Street, Bury; Foundry Street, Bury; Trinity Street, Bury; Parsons Lane, Bury; Market Street, Bury; Fairfax Road, Prestwich; and Prince Street, Ramsbottom.

Councillor Tony Isherwood, Bury’s cabinet member for environment, said: “The Committee on Climate Change – the Government’s climate advisors – forecast that there will be 1.7 million electric vehicles on UK roads by 2020. These can offer low running costs, and reduce local air and noise pollution

“Studies show that a good network of charging points is the key to getting drivers to consider a switch to electric.

“It is expected that the new charging points will be vital in helping Greater Manchester hit its carbon reduction targets as well as improving transport choices and employment opportunities.”

Customers wishing to use the charging bays will be able to do so from July. They will be able to either register through the TfGM website to receive an access card in the post, or simply ‘pay as you go’ by phone or by mobile app.

GMEV charging bays are capable of charging a typical EV in approximately 3-4 hours, which is three times faster than charging at home. The scheme pricing is yet to be confirmed, but users will pay a flat rate per hour to recharge their vehicle. Fully recharging a typical EV in a GMEV bay will cost no more than £6 and this will enable an EV driver to travel around 100 miles.

Private sector partners, such as NCP, Manchester Central, Manchester Metropolitan University, Salford University and Intu Trafford Centre are also on board, providing their own charging bays to supplement the network.

The GMEV scheme will be operated by Charge Your Car (CYC), a leader in EV charging networks. CYC will manage the payments and access to the GMEV scheme on behalf of Transport for Greater Manchester.

The scheme was funded using £1.7 million of support through the Office for Low Emission Vehicles’ (OLEV) ‘Plugged In Places’ scheme and a further £1 million from the combined Greater Manchester authorities’ allocated transport budget.

Further information is available at www.ev.tfgm.com

ENDS

Press release issued:

For further information please contact Peter Doherty or Katy Quinn in the council press office on 0161 253 6096 or 5007. Alternatively please email communications@bury.gov.uk