Electric car drivers could get green number plates to allow them to drive in bus lanes

Government proposes to identify clean vehicles with special plates to boost zero-emissions motoring

Ben Chapman
Tuesday 22 October 2019 10:24 BST
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Charging an electric car at home

Electric cars could be issued green number plates as part of plans to incentivise cleaner vehicles in a bid to tackle climate change and dangerous levels of airborne pollution.

The Department for Transport (DfT) wants to promote zero-emissions vehicles by making them easily identifiable and giving drivers benefits such as cheaper parking and the option to drive in bus lanes.

A similar scheme was introduced in Ontario, Canada in 2010, allowing electric car drivers to use toll lanes for free. The number of electric vehicles on the roads in the city increased after the scheme was implemented.

Launching a consultation on the new plans on Tuesday, transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “Green number plates are a really positive and exciting way to help everyone recognise the increasing number of electric vehicles on our roads.

“By increasing awareness of these vehicles and the benefits they bring to their drivers and our environment, we will turbo-charge the zero-emission revolution.”

Environmental campaigners cautiously welcomed the proposal but warned that far more wide-ranging reforms were needed to slash emissions from transport.

Friends of the Earth campaigner Jenny Bates said: “Green number plates may encourage some people to choose cleaner cars, but if ministers really want to boost the take-up of electric vehicles they should introduce more charging points and better financial incentives.

“A national scrappage scheme is urgently needed too, to help fund a switch to a cleaner vehicle or greener transport alternative – such as car club membership, a rail season ticket or even an e-bike loan.”

Friends of the Earth said the only real solution to the problem is to cut traffic levels by ending the government’s multi-billion-pound road-building programme and investing instead in affordable and efficient public transport, and safer cycling and walking facilities.

The DfT hopes more people will consider buying cleaner cars when they see the plates which have three potential designs: a fully green plate with black letters, a yellow plate with a green bar on one side, or a yellow plate with a green dot or symbol.

The plans are part of a £1.5bn spending package aimed at moving the country towards the government’s pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Under an existing scheme, purchasers of low-emission vehicles can get a discount of £3,500 on the price of a low-emission vehicle and the government unveiled proposals in July to fit all new homes with electric vehicle charging points.

Three proposed designs for the new green number plates

Electric vehicle registrations in the UK more than doubled to 25,000 in the 12 months to September compared with a year earlier, but they still represent just 1.3 per cent of the total car market

Hybrid cars, which combine electric battery power with traditional fossil fuel engines, have also increased in popularity but petrol and diesel cars still account for almost nine of every 10 new cars registered in the UK. By contrast, more than half of all new cars sold in Norway last year were electric.

Elisabeth Costa, senior director at the Behavioural Insights Team, which is part-owned by the Cabinet Office, said green number plates are a way to further boost awareness of the shift to zero-emissions motoring.

“The number of clean vehicles on our roads is increasing but we don’t notice as it’s difficult to tell clean vehicles apart from more polluting ones.

“Green number plates make these vehicles and our decision to drive in a more environmentally-friendly way more visible on roads.

“We think making the changing social norm noticeable will help encourage more of us to swap our cars for cleaner options.”

Transport is now the largest contributor to Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions. While electricity to power our homes has become significantly greener in recent years thanks to the closure of a number of coal-fired power stations, emissions from vehicles are on the rise.

Motorists have a big part to play in meeting UK climate change targets with passenger cars accounting for 70 per cent of all transport emissions.

However, motorists’ groups questioned the proposed introduction of green number plates, with the RAC claiming that they could “foster resentment” among owners of conventionally fuelled vehicles.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “On the face of it, drivers we’ve questioned don’t seem too impressed. Only a fifth think it’s a good idea and the majority said the number plates wouldn’t have the effect of making them any more likely to switch to an electric vehicle.”

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