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Boris: Design an electric family car and I'll buy it
Katharine Barney, City Hall reporter02.12.08
Boris Johnson today said he would be among the first customers of a zero-emission electric family car when the motor industry puts such a vehicle on the market.
The Mayor said that the electric car market needed the encouragement of consumer demand and promised never to buy another petrol-powered car.
But he said people needed a larger alternative to small electric cars such as the Toyota Prius to encourage them to ditch 4X4s.
Mr Johnson said: "It strikes me that after years of false starts, the electric market is on the verge of triumphant maturity, and all it needs is the encouragement of consumer demand.
"So here is my proposal to the motor industry, now languishing in the credit crunch. My Toyota people mover is so old and tired that if it were a dog, you would have it put down.
"But I intend to keep it on the road for another year, for two years, for three years - however long it takes the car manufacturers to produce a zero emission electric family car.
"I don't want to buy another internal combustion engine. There is a market waiting to be satisfied, and if that isn't an economic stimulus, I don't know what is." Mr Johnson's call came as Transport for London unveiled a range of new single- and double-decker eco-friendly hybrid buses, the first stage in an expansion of the city's hybrid bus fleet.
By the end of January next year, the number of hybrid buses in the London will more than quadruple to 56. A further 300 will be in operation by 2011.
Twenty-five hybrids will go into service this month on routes 16, 141, 276, 328 and E8; a further 18 will join the fleet early next year. Mr Johnson said: "A wonderful alliance of fuel efficiency and fume deficiency make hybrid engines the way to go for buses in our city.
"Londoners who travel on buses with the green leaf livery can rest comfortably in their seats and enjoy clear environmental consciences; safe in the knowledge that their journey will guzzle far less fuel and expire a whopping forty per cent less carbon dioxide than a regular bus."
Hybrid buses are cleaner and greener than their diesel counterparts. Their combination of a conventional engine and an electric motor uses less fuel and emits fewer pollutants - including 40 per cent fewer CO2 emissions.
Their roll-out will contribute to the Mayor's target of a 60 per cent reduction in emissions across London by 2025. Hybrid buses are also significantly quieter than diesel buses, making bus travel more pleasant for passengers and reducing noise for local residents who live along bus routes.
Alexander Dennis, Volvo and Optare have now produced their first hybrid buses for London, while Wrightbus has produced a new double deck hybrid, using different technology to that used in the 13 hybrids it already has operating in the London fleet.
Reader views (18)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
I am also waiting for an all electric mini van. Chrysler thought they were funny by bringing the town and country out with a 50 miles per gallon. I have news for them, I,m not buying anything till it,s 100% electric.
- Tommy, Chicago U.S.A.
I have just read that kirklees council are takeing delivery of an all Electric refuse truck from Smiths Electric Vehicles and will be a worlds first as the truck will be powered by the rubbish
it collects,the refuse is used to produce Electric thus
then allowing the vehicle to be charged,Kirklees council
have said they would like to extend this to all councill operated vehicles dramaticly reducing costs across the board. This is forward thinking at its very best so not only do you save on landfill also fuel and maintanence but you also dramaticly cut the carbon footprint
this can only be a WIN WIN WIN situation for councils i
do hope other councils follow this amazing world first
initiative by these forward thinking councilors.
- E Thomas, southport
Trolley buses? You must be off your rocker (as they frequently were), but an electric bus with batteries, recharging with wireless underground induction at bus stops and battery swapping at terminals; that would be something!
- Piers Headley, Berlin, Germany
Well done to all those pointing out that electric cars come at a cost too.
But more importantly, in these credit-crunched times, where are we supposed to get the money to buy these expensive electric cars, especially when the government has done such a good job of driving down the value of second-hand cars, making them worthless as trade-ins, as well as taking away our income to waste on banks?
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland
Trunk,US - I remember Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble had zero rmmision cars!!
I agree with bringing back Trolley-buses which were once the best thing on six wheels!
Then those highly polluting routemaster buses with less capacity replaced them.
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
There is no such thing as a zero emission vehicle.
At a minimum they produce heat.
All electric vehicles do is shift your money from oil companies to electric companies, and concentrate the pollutants at large power plants.
- Trunk, US
I don't understand - where is the electricity coming from? Surely there will be emissions at source?
- Claire, Londn
Good point well brought out, Boris! Current electric cars only cater for 1 person and a handbag or 2 people and no handbags, yet the owners of them are rather smug about those of us who have to drive kids around (I know, I know: it's my own fault for 'choosing to have them'!). Driving most family cars around with multiple occupants, I might add, is way easier on the environment PER PERSON TRAVELLING than a Smart car. Lets see a hybrid of the 2.
- Roz, Chamonix, France
I would have thought a car powered by waffles would be more appropriate to Boris.
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
BoJo will keep his big old oil burner for as long as he gets ferred around in brand new cars at the tax payers expense. Then he's likely to be given a freebie electric car from the maufacturers PR department so they can point at the 'zero emmisions' BoJo while they sell us regular cars...
- Ben, London, W1
Johnson says a lot that adds up to nothing or something worse than we already have - time is beginning to show that he was the wrong choice for mayor.
- Mc, London
Boris, never mind a car, would you buy an electric bus for London. No, not a complicated expensive power station on wheels (hybrid) a simple proven and efficient vehicle called a trolleybus. 500 volts in, wheels turn, zero emissions.
- Mark, Bournemouth England
Boris could help further the uptake of electric vehicles by pointing to the several hundred all-electric trucks and vans already in use in London, made mostly by Smith Electric Vehicles, and by Modec. The Smith range includes an electric minibus based on the Ford Transit - which is perhaps a bit too big for Boris's own use but could certainly replace some of the diesel minibuses used by local authorities within London.
- John Latusek, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, UK
Electric cars that cost pennies per mile to run won't provide any revenue for Brown and Darling, so forget about it.
- Paul, London
"Big oil will stop mass production of electric cars. They have already done so in the USA."
...which now has a President-elect that's far less sympathetic to their concerns.
- Michael, London
Whatever happened to electric bikes? We used to see a lot of them when I was young. Johnson should stick to the tube and cycles and not think about cars.
- Dhanraj, Basildon Essex
One of the largest schemes to reduce pollution around central London would have to penalise the ridiculous, dirty and dangerous 4x4s with the higher C Charge. Oh but you scrapped that didnt you Boris, what was the reason, oh you wanted those same people to vote for you in....These mostly stuck up drivers would gladly write your car off and kill you in accident as long as their all right got away lightly....
P.S If you put more stupid bendy buses on the roads and then no-one will be able to drive in London anyway
- Dc, London
Big oil will stop mass production of electric cars. They have already done so in the USA.
- Mr Peter Pryer, Worthing ,West Sussex, England
