Video: Councillor Nick McDonald speaks about the future of electric power
A Nottingham man won £750 thanks to an electric car-themed challenge designed to show off the benefits of electric vehicles.
Clues were revealed across social media throughout the day to the location of a Renault Zoe being driven around Nottingham containing the money.
The winner had to take a selfie with the hashtag #FollowTheSuitcase with the car when it parked at Meadow Lane to win the £750.
This is the amount Go Ultra Low, a government campaign urging people to buy and use electric powered vehicles, say can be saved by switching to an electric car per year.
@GoUltraLow #FollowTheSuitcase pic.twitter.com/nnEKTlck2i
— Will (@WillNoble_) July 21, 2016
The competition comes as part of Nottingham’s successful £6.1m bid to invest in more eco-friendly transport in the city.
The scheme is backed by Nottingham City Council and Portfolio Holder for Business, Growth and Transport Nick McDonald Nick McDonald spoke about his delight of the city using electric power.
That bid could have gone to another city but we were successful
He said: “That bid could have gone to another city but we were successful because of our track record with low carbon transport and managing money well.
“It will allow us to invest in more infrastructure to charge electric cars, it promotes electric vehicles and we can educate people about how they work.
“We want to enable people to be able to make this choice in Nottingham by spending this money well.”
They’re cheaper to run
Cllr McDonald believes that electric powered vehicles will continue to grow.
He said: “The use of electric vehicles is going up all the time; not just with private drivers but taxis and buses as well – we have the largest fleet of electric buses in Europe.
“They’re cheaper to run so there’s a lot of sense to be had in running electric vehicles.
“The statistics will move inevitably in favour of more people so we’ve got to make sure that we keep up in the city by having infrastructure in place.”
@WillNoble_ congratulations on winning £750 #followthesuitcase #GoLowNottm @GoUltraLow pic.twitter.com/5COG6DISAw
— Transport Nottingham (@Transport_Nottm) July 21, 2016
Poppy Welch, Head of the Go Ultra Low campaign, said: “Electric cars are high performance, fun, exciting and financially compelling.
“Our #FollowTheSuitcase competition provided the perfect vehicle for helping to drive awareness of these benefits.
“Those who weren’t lucky enough to win on the day could still save £750 a year by switching to an electric car.”
