Welcome to your Go Ultra Low Nottingham February Newsletter

More charge points coming to the D2N2 network

Over the next few weeks you’ll see new charging points at: ⚡️ Wilkinson Street Park & Ride – 18 fast & 1 rapid ⚡️ Glossop Municipal Buildings – rapid ⚡️ Hope Valley - rapid ⚡️ Chapel-en-le-Frith - rapid ⚡️ Market Place, Wirksworth – rapid There will be even more on the way (subject to funding)… Keep up to date here.

Transporting children in cleaner, greener vehicles

We’ve now got the first five electric minibuses to be used by a local authority in the UK with full wheelchair accessibility. Previously, the period that the vehicles were idling for while the children boarded the minibus was a concern as the emissions were being thrown out at the height of the children. Now this isn’t an issue because the vehicles use zero emission electric drive trains.

What’s more, one of the buses has solar panels on the roof to help recharge the battery. This is part of a pilot scheme to reduce the time needed to recharge at the depot.

Read all about it: Nottingham goes carbon neutral by 2028

You have until Sunday 15 March to respond to Nottingham’s carbon neutral action plan! Your city can become carbon neutral by 2028. This is how we could do it but it needs every citizen, organisation and business to get involved. This is still a draft so please help us by taking part in this survey so that our plan supports the actions people in this city want to see.

Planned actions for transport include:

🔵 Reducing the need to travel within the city by encouraging smarter working

🔵 Increasing uptake of active travel with a high quality cycle network

🔵 Improving public transport to promote usage, including seeking to expand the tram network

🔵 Expanding the D2N2 charging network to encourage uptake of electric vehicles

By popular demand: another 100 delegate places added to ‘Creating a Low Emission City Conference’

The speakers have been announced and the line-up is looking to be a big hit. With Robert Llewellyn of Fully Charged, Mark Goodier and many more local and national transport experts and enthusiasts, multiple topics will be discussed to cover the wide range of actions that can be taken to reduce emissions within cities.

Councillor Sally Longford, Portfolio Holder for Energy and the Environment, Nottingham City Council, said “This is a great opportunity to showcase some of the work we have been doing to support local businesses and other organisations to make the switch to cleaner vehicles. We’re looking forward to meeting other councils and representatives from industry to share lessons learned and discuss how we can move forward together to build a greener future.

“For Nottingham, as our Go Ultra Low project draws to a close, we’re keen to discuss ‘what’s next?’ and show what more we can do to promote cleaner vehicles and greener ways to commute in the city, contributing to our goal of being carbon neutral by 2028.”

Tom Callow from BP Chargemaster added: “It’s been great to work with Nottingham City Council over the past couple of years, with a progressive approach that has allowed the region to benefit from rapid expansion of public charging infrastructure, making it easier for local drivers to go electric. We hope to be able to share some of the best practice we have developed to help other cities.”

Mike Potter from DriveElectric said: “I’m delighted that the Nottingham ULEV Experience EV loan scheme has been such a success; it has shown that giving employees the opportunity to drive EVs - ie. ‘try before you buy’ - can make a real difference with increasing the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles. The preference of employees for the driving experience of an EV combined with lower whole life costs results in a compelling proposition for an electric fleet.”

Mel Potter from CrowdCharge explains that “CrowdCharge will be launching the Electric Nation Vehicle to Grid (V2G) project at the ‘Creating A Low Emission City Conference’, offering Nissan EV owners in the Western Power Distribution licence area - which includes Nottingham - a V2G home smart charger, which could allow them to charge their car for free, as well as helping to balance the grid. We look forward to announcing full details at the event.”

Tom Bloomfield, Business Specialist at Nottingham’s Sandicliffe Kia concluded: “We’re delighted to play a part in helping our great city become a low emission city, with the backing of our manufacturer’s strong beliefs in alternative fuel vehicles. The sales of such vehicles has risen significantly and we only see that increasing more, with Kia aiming to introduce 16 alternative fuel vehicles by 2025. This conference will showcase the importance of the Go Ultra Low and ULEV Experience projects and the progress that Nottingham has achieved.”

Delegates, book your place here. But be quick as it’s nearly fully booked.

WeGo Couriers boosting their EV numbers

Back in the driving seat of their electric conversion, WeGo Couriers has added a further seven BMW i3s to their fleet. These are being used as medical cars to transport urgent blood. This conversion has been helped by a Workplace Travel Service grant which provided a faster 22kW charger, allowing their ultra low emission vehicles to move efficiently throughout the day. 

Experian’s sustainable transport story

Encouraging cycling to work, Experian enlisted the help of our Workplace Travel Service to install two new bike shelters and 32 storage lockers. They say that after installing the cycling infrastructure they have seen an increase in members of staff cycling to work. Cycling to work allows you to improve your physical, emotional and financial health, and can promote higher productivity at work.

Check out their story here.

Trialling the Dynamo hackney taxi

Recently Nottingham hackney taxi drivers had the chance to test drive the all-new 100% electric Dynamo hackney taxi. This opportunity allowed the drivers to fully explore the feeling of driving electric in this all new vehicle. Feedback was positive, with 10 Dynamos being ordered immediately after their trial finished. Ultra low emission hackney taxis will play an important part in helping us meet our carbon neutral 2028 target. 

All you need to know about electric vehicles

Considering going electric? Come along to Shop Zero’s “Electric Vehicles – What you need to know” free event to learn all about the benefits, considerations prior to purchase, and the practical aspects of running an EV.

Book your place for free here.

Register now for a reduced rate If you are a resident or business with a postcode in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby or Derbyshire, you can now register for your D2N2 card to take advantage of a reduced tariff – 20p per kilowatt – to charge at the D2N2 charge points. Sign up here for yours.