Freight must share £500m government funding, says FTA 30 July 2013

Although welcoming the DfT's (Department for Transport) extra £500 million to fund the development of ultra-low emissions vehicles and their supporting infrastructure to 2020, the FTA (Freight Transport Association) insists freight sector must benefit, too.

The funding was announced as part of DfT's new Roads Command Paper – Action for Roads, with the objective of improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions.

DfT is currently investing £400 million up to 2016 to help the uptake of new vehicles, but the additional £500 million is intended to support industry and consumers in the switch to the latest low-carbon technology.

"Investing in alternative fuels and low carbon technologies is extremely costly, so FTA welcomes government's commitment of additional funding to help encourage the take up of ultra-low emission vehicles," says Rachael Dillon, FTA climate change policy manager.

"However, too often previous funding has been devoted to cars and vans. Freight provides a vital role in delivering the goods for the economy but it is a significant challenge to reduce carbon emissions," she continues.

"The sector needs support, particularly with the provision of infrastructure for dual fuel HGVs and gas refuelling, in order to contribute to national carbon reduction targets," she adds.

To date, much of government's funding has been reserved for electric vehicle technology, which effectively rules out HGVs.

FTA believes that alternatives, such as gas and biomethane, are the best options to reducing emissions in the freight sector – building on the £11 million of government funding allocated to a low carbon commercial vehicle trial in 2012.

Author
John Challen

Related Companies
Freight Transport Association Ltd

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