Swansea Council claims it now has the largest electric van fleet among Welsh local authorities following the addition of 40 Partner Electric vans.
The newly delivered vehicles have been leased on a five-year contract hire agreement, including maintenance and breakdown cover, from Days Fleet and are being deployed after the council had ascertained the clear environmental benefits of electric vehicles with the adoption of 10 electric pool cars.
Meanwhile the five-year lease brings a budget-neutral position for the council while enabling it to benefit from the vans’ greener running.
The vans – supplied through local Peugeot dealer C.E.M. Day, which supplied the council’s previous electric cars – are all fitted with ply lining and some feature ‘Chapter 8’ high-visibility markings on the rear doors, depending on allocated use. They will be used predominantly by Swansea’s Corporate Building Services, Waste Management, Parks, Highways, Car Parks and Street Cleansing teams for short, local journeys.
The council also credited Peugeot for its support with the charging infrastructure.
Mark Barrow, fleet manager, central transport unit at Swansea Council, said: “The excellent support provided by Peugeot in terms of infrastructure development allowed the council to install the necessary charge-points at all key municipal locations. The establishment of this base-to-base charge-point network secured the opportunity to acquire the 40 vans.”
“The duty cycles of many of the Swansea Council van fleet are well suited to electric motoring and suggest that many other local authorities could tap into similar cost saving and environmental benefits,” added Helen Lees, head of electric vehicles at Group PSA. “We are delighted to have helped the council bring together the right vehicles and charging infrastructure to assist it in reducing the impact of its vehicle operations.”
