Do people in Liverpool want electric vehicles?

Like most large cities in England, Liverpool is making inroads into encouraging the switch to low emission vehicles in a bid to rectify the city’s high air pollution levels.

The North West and Merseyside is one of the 16 areas in the UK flagged by the European Commission earlier in 2017 for breaching pollution levels. Shocking figures released earlier this year show that around 650 deaths in the city each year are linked to respiratory disease.

The Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, is placing most of the blame on the choice of vehicle types in the city and is aiming to rectify the problem by promoting the use of electric vehicles.

Diesel free

Although the government has announced that they will ban the sale of diesel vehicles in the UK from 2040, Liverpool appears to be a step ahead of the changes. Liverpool’s Mayor has expressed his desires to make the city diesel-free zone by as soon as the early 2020s.

The diesel-free zone has been outlined in the council’s clean air zone scheme. Creating cleaner air is the priority and diesel cars, lorries and buses could be barred from the city at certain times from as soon as 2022.

The plan has come on the back of the figures that show residents and visitors of Liverpool are exposed to a high level of dangerous pollutants. There were 292 hospital admissions in 2014/15 for asthma among under 19s - the third highest of all the UK’s main cities.

With diesel seemingly on its way out of the city, the council is likely to invest further in encouraging the uptake of electric and hybrid vehicles and use other methods of transport. The Mayor of Liverpool wants Liverpool to have a “central heart” by 2025, where walking, cycling, electric vehicles and clean fuels will dominate.

There was a mixed response from locals when the Liverpool Echo asked if locals thought whether the diesel ban was a good idea. Rather than the ban on diesel itself, it is perhaps the immediacy of the change that is the worry for residents.

There are sufficient charging points for the electric vehicles already in the town but more need to be installed to cope with the mass adoption that the mayor is hoping for, before diesel is banned completely. Last year 14 new charging points were installed for public use in the region.

Low emission car hire in Liverpool

Our low emission car and van hire in Liverpool is located at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. With plenty to see in Liverpool itself, and surrounding areas, hiring a car make sure you don’t miss out on anything. From the iconic Cavern Club and Liver building to the Mersey Tunnel and the Albert Dock, there is plenty to explore, so why not do it in the comfort of an electric vehicle?

More details of the electric, hybrid and petrol vehicles available at our Liverpool car hire branch can be found on our online booking system.