£30m boost for car charging

The Government is offering £30 million to help fund the installation of charging points for electric and plug-in hybrid cars.

Transport secretary Andrew Adonis today invited cities and businesses to bid for the money as part of an initiative called 'Plugged-In Places'.

Between three and six electric car regions or cities will be developed to act as trailblazers for the technology. Their experiences will be used to help shape a national charging infrastructure in the future.

The catch? Successful applicants will be expected to match the Government's investment and to create local incentives to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles.

Andrew Adonis said: 'The UK can be a world leader in electric and low-carbon cars. Our aim is for electric and low-carbon cars to be an everyday feature of life on the UK's roads in less than five years.'

Overall, the Government is investing around £400m to encourage the development and use of next-generation ultra-low-carbon vehicles. This aims to create new jobs in the sector and to cut carbon from UK road transport.

Interested applicants can find out more about the scheme from the new Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) at www.dft.gov.uk/olev