Lib Dems encourage alternative fuel vehicles

3.59.27pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 28th Nov 2006

Liberal Democrat City Councillors Judith Lubbock and Hereward Cooke have demonstrated their commitment to furthering Green issues in Norwich in practical ways by fully endorsing a new parking permit initiative. Free permit parking is now a possibility in Norwich!

At a time when transportation prices are increasing, an opportunity has arisen to get completely free parking for your personal vehicle in Norwich.

Permit parking charges have recently been evaluated and revised by Norwich City Council and an important and exciting part of the new parking permit scheme is the 100% discount for Alternative Fuel Vehicle private cars.

Cllr Judith Lubbock

Councillor Lubbock also believes more initiatives such as this are needed, like a reduced tariff in car parks for Alternative Fuel Vehicles.

Alternative Fuel Vehicles, or automobiles that operate on fuels other than petrol and diesel, are central to controlling climate change. AFVs are powered by electricity, propane, natural gas or ethanol, or by a combination of two fuels, including one environmentally friendly one.

If you are an interested resident, finding vehicles that use alternative energy is easy and owning an AFV will bring you the benefit of free parking on your road as well as helping the environment. To search for an AFV by manufacturer, simply look at the online Powershift Register, which is maintained by the government- funded Energy Savings Trust. Some examples of AFVs are the Toyota Prius, Mitsubishi Carisma, and the Vauxhall Astra. Owning one of the AFV vehicles on the Powershift Register will bring you an extra bonus: most of the vehicles listed comply with the free Congestion charge scheme for driving into London.

This forward thinking initiative was brought forth with inspiration from the CIVITAS project which links Norwich with other European cities with the goal of shrinking carbon emissions by reducing congestion and pollution in cities. The participating cities exchange information and expertise and the new parking permit scheme is an excellent example of a positive outcome from the CIVITAS project collaboration.

The 100% parking permit rebate for Alternative Fuel Vehicles is a great opportunity, but residents with AFVs are advised to apply for free parking now because the permit prices will be evaluated again as more are taken up.

Related Link:

Alternative Fuels page at Energy Saving Trust.