Neath Port Talbot Council charges towards the future with growing fleet of Electric Vehicles

Here are some of Neath Port Talbot Council’s fast growing stable of Electric Vehicles aimed at improving the environment and cutting fuel costs when it comes to transport.

The council now has electric vehicles including:

• Two EV minibuses,
• A large EV kerbside recycling lorry,
• Electric road sweepers
• Six new EV Vauxhall Corsa cars for use by Social Services staff,
• Two EV Renault cars, seven electric Peugeot/Maxus vans, six Renault Kangoo electric vehicles for the council’s neighbourhood and waste enforcement teams
• A Maxus electric van for use in Pest Control, one small electric van and a CCTV enforcement vehicle for Parking services along with three Pool Cars for use by workers who need to be on the move.

Cllr Wyndham Griffiths, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Transport and Connectivity, said: “This is proof we are backing up our Climate Change emergency declaration in 2022 with real action by building up our fleet of EVs while beginning the phasing out of petrol and diesel fuelled vehicles.

“The council has been actively developing a plan to transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and while many of our staff need to move around to deliver social services, recycling collections and many other services to our residents – we are starting to do it in a much greener and cleaner way.

“The transition towards EVs also ties in with the council’s Decarbonisation and Renewable Energy (DARE) strategy.”

Electric vehicles offer savings, including:

• There are fewer mechanical components in an electric vehicle compared with conventional vehicles, which often results in lower servicing and maintenance costs.
• Pure EVs have a zero rate of vehicle excise duty.
• Low insurance costs.
• Lower carbon dioxide emissions and no air pollution at point of use.

Picture shows (centre left) Cllr Scott Jones, Cllr Wyndham Griffiths (centre right) with NPT staff plus Ian Bramhall of manufacturers Terberg Matec UK (fourth left).