Less polluting vehicles in Southampton
At present vehicles in the UK are predominantly petrol or diesel powered, producing 331,000 tons of NOx pollutants nationwide (DEFRA, 2016).
Clean vehicle and fuel technologies provide us with an affordable, available means of reducing transportation-related air pollution and climate change emissions. These include fuel-efficient vehicles that use less oil; cleaner fuels that produce fewer emissions; and electric cars and trucks that can entirely remove exhaust emissions.
Plug–in electric vehicles are run entirely on power from the National Grid or other electric suppliers. Whilst they are not the complete solution for removing harmful emissions, they do produce much lower levels of pollution.
Electric charging points
At home – You can charge your EV overnight using a standard 3-pin plug with an EVSE cable. Alternatively, you can install a home charging point for £400 – which can charge your car faster. On average, an EV costs £3.64 to fully charge at home, at a rate of 13p per kilowatt hour (kWh). It is important to check if your EV needs a Type 1 or Type 2 plug, as you need to use a charging point that is compatible with your car.
At work – Some employers provide charging points at their facilities free for their staff to use. Certain employers may require you to pay for using their charging stations, it is important that you check this with your employer. More and more businesses are installing charging stations for their employees. Speak to your workplace to find out if this is a facility they can provide.’
Public charging stations – you can top up your battery while driving around town. Find out where you can find a charging point in Southampton.
Rapid charging stations – rapid charging stations are usually found in motorway service stations. Rapid chargers can fully charge your EV in around 30 minutes. Depending on what EV model you own, this service can be either free or up to £7.20 for a full charge.
City-centre season ticket parking concessions
As an incentive to owners of electric vehicle Southampton City Council are currently offering a 90% discount on any city centre season parking ticket for which they are eligible. Click here to find more details and to apply.
Thinking of buying a new vehicle?
If you are, why not visit the 'next green car' web pages (please note, this will take you to a website which is external to My Journey). This provides independent information about environmentally friendly cars. The UK government provide grants of up to £4,500 (depending on the model) when you purchase an EV from a car manufacturer. The cost of driving an EV is about 2p per mile, which means you can save money when compared to petrol or diesel, which cost around 15p per mile.