Glasgow is the first council in Britain to take delivery of a fleet of new VW Polo ‘Bluemotion’ vehicles - the most economically friendly vehicle in its class in Europe on the road today.

 

The new cars will be used by a variety of employees in the delivery of services across the council, primarily by Direct and Care homecarers, and in the process save the council in the region of £598,000 over the contract duration - approximately £157,000 of which will be directly from reduced fuel and road tax bills.

 

Leader of Glasgow City Council, Steven Purcell will join a couple of Homecare employees at 9.30am on Wednesday 11 June at the City Chambers to take the first delivery of a couple of the new cars. The contract, which was awarded for the council’s entire light vehicle fleet, featured a specific lot for Small Saloon Cars.

 

The supply of this lot was awarded to The Verve Ltd in Rutherglen by the Executive Committee on 16 November, and will see approximately 300 of the “Bluemotion” VW Polos used in the city over the next four years. Glasgow City Council has a very proactive sustainability agenda and is committed to reducing its carbon footprint.

 

The highlights of the new fleet of Bluemotion cars include a significant reduction in Carbon emissions against the present model of vehicle, savings in fuel economy by utilising a class leading 74.3 mpg diesel engine and in road tax as the car is classed as a Category A energy efficient and as such is exempt from road tax.

 

Steven Purcell, leader of the Council said today: “In November 2006, Glasgow City Council made a commitment to develop a Carbon Management Programme (CMP) in order to develop an implementation plan to achieve a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. The aim of this implementation plan is to reduce the level of carbon emissions arising from heating and lighting its premises, street lighting, waste management and travel associated with business and fleet by 20% over a five-year period.