It costs as little as 1p per mile to run a car on electricity
Electric cars are extremely quiet with zero tailpipe emissions
Life-cycle emissions (including power generation and transmission) also show net environmental benefits for electric vehicles, but a key advantage is that health-damaging pollution is removed from urban centres
Electricity has been favoured for city-based cars and small passenger vehicles with set journey patterns requiring limited range (around 50miles), though it has also been trialled in some urban buses
Electric vehicles can be fully recharged from any 13-amp socket in around seven hours. Vehicles can be effectively part-charged when they are stopped for shorter breaks, which can significantly increase range
New generation electric/petrol or diesel hybrid vehicles offer significant emissions benefits without the range disadvantage traditionally associated with electric vehicles
LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS (LPG)
LPG is very cheap due to the significantly lower fuel duty imposed by the government.
A litre of LPG currently costs less than half the price of petrol or diesel on the forecourts (excluding battery lease costs).
A litre of LPG allows a vehicle to travel approximately 75% of the distance it could travel on a litre of petrol
LPG vehicles can significantly reduce the output of key target pollutants - nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulates - as well as contributing to reductions in carbon dioxide emissions which lead to global warming
LPG refuelling points are being introduced all over the country. There were approximately 600 in the UK at the beginning of the year 2001 - and the number is expected to double within two or three years
Most types of vehicle can be built, or converted, to run on LPG. It is easier and cheaper to convert a vehicle with a petrol engine than one running on diesel
The typical cost of converting a passenger car or light vehicle to run on LPG is around £1,500 (this cost may be reduced by a Power Shift grant). More and more vehicles with a LPG option are now available direct from the manufacturers
LPG has proved particularly popular as a fuel for cars and vans, most of which are bi-fuel; they carry both petrol and LPG and can change from one to the other at the flick of a switch
NATURAL GAS (LNG)
Natural gas is available as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG)
It has proved particularly popular for trucks, buses and larger vehicles. The extra weight and cost of on-board fuel tanks makes conversion to natural gas normally more expensive than LPG for smaller vehicles
Natural gas vehicles can significantly reduce output of key target pollutants - nitrogen oxide (Nox) and particulates - as well as contributing to reductions in carbon dioxide emissions which lead to global warming
There are a limited number of public refuelling points for natural gas. Many fleets have chosen to install depot-based refuelling facilities
Refuelling options for natural gas range from cheap, slow-fill compressors which can refuel a vehicle overnight, to high-tech stations which can refuel a vehicle in a similar time to petrol. Installing a larger refuelling station can be expensive which means the economics work best when 15 or more larger vehicles are involved to spread the cost
Natural gas is currently the cheapest of all the fossil-based fuels (including LPG) when fuel costs alone are considered. It costs under 6p per mile to run a smaller vehicle (compared with 10p or more on petrol)
Natural gas engines are far quieter than diesel engines making these vehicles suitable for overnight deliveries and noise-sensitive locations
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