10-02-2011

As part of BT’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions by 80% before the year 2020, it has recently announced a scheme to trial energy efficient vans across two of their locations.

A small scale trial at first, two electric vans are to be introduced in Milton Keynes and two in East London, to be used by Openreach – an area of the business responsible for the local BT network which connects homes and businesses. If the initial trial is successful, plans will be put in place to roll out the scheme more widely across its nationwide fleet of 23,400 vehicles.

With a potential range of up to 100 miles between battery charges, the coverage of the electrical vans is expected to be more than sufficient to meet the needs of the Openreach team, who typically cover 60 to 65 miles per day. The vehicles are also limited to a top speed of 70 mph, which it is anticipated will help reduce erratic or dangerous driving and enforce an adherence to motorway speed limits.

As well as greatly reducing the costs of fuel, it is also expected that the move will help cut vehicle maintenance costs and the price of van insurance. Such cost reductions will be based upon the simplicity of an electrical engine in comparison to traditional combustion engines. The insurance costs will also fall due to the speed limitation of the vans.

Mike Galloway, Cabinet Minister for Environment within the Milton Keynes Council, said: “It’s great to see such a big company as BT deciding to contribute to the environment. We believe electric vehicles will play an increasingly important role in reducing carbon emissions in the city, helping us to do our bit to help tackle climate change.”

John Small, Service Delivery Director at Openreach, said: “This is fantastic news, I’m delighted we are trialling these electric vans here in Milton Keynes.”

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