Six Lanarkshire based community transport groups will benefit from an award of £1.2M from our Green Economy Fund. Today, three of these transport groups have unveiled their new electric minibuses, vans, and people carriers. These new electric vehicles will be used to support vulnerable, disadvantaged and elderly people across the region to access vital appointments and community activities.
Getting Better Together Shotts, Cumbernauld Action on Care of the Elderly and Glenboig Development Trust have received their vehicles and will be using them to replace aging diesel vehicles that put the organisation’s vital community work in jeopardy, as they had become increasingly unreliable.
Our Green Economy Fund is directly funding six community organisations - Glenboig, Cumbernauld Action on Care of the Elderly, WATIF, Rural Development Trust, Larkhall and Getting Better Together Shotts - allowing them to purchase 100% electric vehicles that are low floor accessible – which ensures the fleet provides transport solutions to assist vulnerable communities throughout North and South Lanarkshire, while helping to improve the air quality in the region.
In the long-term, the new vehicles will enable Getting Better Together Shotts, Cumbernauld Action on Care of the Elderly and Glenboig Development Trust to reduce their carbon footprints with an expected 32 tonnes reduction in CO2 emissions in the next year.
Getting Better Together Shotts has received two 16-seat Mellor minibuses and two seven-seater Nissan people carrier to assist them in providing community support services for early years, children and young people and the elderly. Cumbernauld Action on Care of the Elderly has been awarded two minibuses to provide door to door services which transports people from their home to its on-site activity suite and events in the local community. Whilst Glenboig Development Trust have received two electric vehicles, a van and a car to provide community support to children and young people and to deliver meals and wellbeing visits to the elderly community.
All three community transport groups have also offered their services to NHS Lanarkshire to assist with the COVID-19 vaccination rollout.
The all-electric community vehicles are being funded as part of our £20million Green Economy Fund, which supports the Scottish Government’s ambitious plans to meet climate change targets. The fund also aims to boost local economic growth, improve air quality across the country and deliver a better future, quicker for all.
We are also helping deliver up to 44 new electric vehicle charging hubs across Lanarkshire as part of our Project PACE. The Project is being delivered through our strategic partnership with the Scottish Government and so far has already provided 260MWh of energy to electric vehicles and enabled around 912,940 miles to be driven using clean, green transport, removing up to 159 tonnes of CO2 which would have been emitted to the atmosphere had this mileage been done by petrol or diesel cars.
Our CEO Frank Mitchell said: “Scotland has ambitious plans to be the UK’s first net zero country by 2045, but we must ensure that no community is left behind. Helping communities build their own green economy and establish low carbon infrastructure is at the heart of our Green Economy Fund. We are proud to be funding all six of the North Lanarkshire projects, as they begin to build an electric fleet that will allow them to play their part in improving Lanarkshire’s air quality and supporting some of the region’s most vulnerable residents.”
Paul Bridges, Head of Transport at Getting Better Together Shotts, said: "Getting Better Together Shotts is delighted that it is able to begin the move to an electric fleet that will reduce our CO2 emissions. We are extremely grateful to SP Energy Networks’ Green Economy Fund as without them this would not have been possible.”
Eddie Dunlop, at Cumbernauld Action on Care of the Elderly, said: "We are thrilled with our new all electric minibuses thanks to funding from SP Energy Networks’ Green Economy Fund. This will be transformational, not only in terms of the environment, but also for the social impact it will have as it assists with our long-term plan to provide vital transport services to the vulnerable communities of North Lanarkshire.”
Teresa Aitken from Glenbloig Development Trust, said: “This investment will benefit all aspects of our service users lives, including their health. To future proof our service, whilst also expanding our green fleet, is something we are delighted to be able to do. The vehicles really are a lifeline for so many of our service users, so we couldn’t be more grateful for the support we have received from SP Energy Networks.”
Find out more about the Green Economy Fund and the projects it supports.