People in Suffolk will be able book to drive brand new electric vehicles (EVs) through the beautiful county as part of a new eco-friendly project being launched next summer.
Plug In Suffolk Car Clubs will be replacing sixteen electric vehicles across eight locations in Suffolk next summer as part of a project to introduce low-emission vehicles to people without access to cars into the community.
Electric cars will be available for people to book by the minute, hour or day in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, Sudbury, Needham Market, Stowmarket, Lowestoft and Woodbridge.
People looking to sign up to the service can register to a mailing list which will provide updates on the scheme.
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The project is funded by Suffolk’s public sector and aims to achieve two of the Suffolk Climate Emergency Plan goals: reducing the number of cars on the road and increasing the proportion of low or zero emission vehicles on the road.
Meanwhile, additional EV charging points will be added across the county with extra funding being provided by the Department for Transport’s On Street Residential ChargePoint Scheme.
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Neil MacDonald, chair of Suffolk Public Sector Leaders, said: “Suffolk residents have been asking about the possibility of bringing Car Clubs to Suffolk following the recent success of the Car Club trial in Oxfordshire, therefore I am looking forward to the launch of our trial.
“I am hoping that many individuals and families will benefit from the scheme and help to bring electric community vehicles permanently to our county.”
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Meanwhile, environmental organisation, Creating the Greenest County, said similar projects in the UK have "led to improved air quality, reduced congestion and increased mobility for people without cars".
It added: "Current providers remain reluctant to fully fund electric community vehicles in rural and semi-rural areas like Suffolk as they do not yet have the real-world data to support the usage.
"Car Clubs have already offered people in other parts of the UK access to local, low-emission vehicles without the expense of owning one"
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