Leeds City Council has become one of the first around the UK to invest in electric vehicles, with forty-two ELV's being added to its fleet. The combination of cars and vans will add to and replace the current vehicles in its fleet and will be used mainly for delivering council services through the city centre, where it's hoped the reduced emissions will have the biggest impact on improving air quality. The vehicles are expected to offer fuel savings of around £24,600, whilst travelling a combined 450,000 miles a year around the city. Lucinda Yeadon, executive member for environment and sustainability at Leeds City Council, said: 'Making the switch to electric vehicles means we can cut emissions from our business as usual operations and make not insignificant financial savings too." The council is also taking other steps to help promote ELV's. They are now offering any ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) drivers a free parking permit within the city. More parking is also being created specifically for electric vehicles within council car parks. The council is working hard to help ensure that any new developments are fitted with suitable charging points for the new vehicles. Sustainable transport has continued to be a focus for the city council. In recent months, they've continued to encourage people to use appropriate vehicles wherever possible, and have also carried out work to remove barriers for the transport industry in the hope that ULEV uptake will continue to increase. Finally, the council is in ongoing discussions with a number of city bus companies in order to help them maximise their positive contribution to the environment.
