St Helens Council add new range of electric vehicles to growing fleet

The new additions are six Ford E Transit electric panel vans, one utility vehicle, 23 Toyota Proace light commercial electric vehicles and two kerbside sort electric recycling vehicles, which are among the first of their kind purchased in England.

The growing green fleet of 34 electric vehicles and one "pioneering" hydrogen electric refuse collection vehicle is helping St Helens Borough Council towards achieving its target of net zero carbon by 2040.

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The hydrogen waste vehicle was unveiled in 2022 (Image: St Helens Council)
In 2022, the council approved plans to replace its fleet of vehicles with energy-efficient alternatives, which is planned to save money and cut carbon emissions by hundreds of tonnes every year.

The council also approved an electric vehicle charging infrastructure strategy earlier this year,  with 25 EV charging points installed in its Hardshaw Brook Depot as the first phase of this project.

Alongside the reduced emissions, the modernisation of the fleet is also hoped to help to increase service resilience and efficiency, with less downtime for repairs and reduced maintenance costs.

More energy-efficient gritters were also introduced in winter (Image: St Helens Council)
Councillor Andy Bowden, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Climate Change, said: “This replacement programme is supporting our services to undertake wider modernisation and provide flexibility for the future.

"It will also ensure that our workforce has access to modern and fit for purpose vehicles and equipment, increasing service efficiency and cutting maintenance costs dramatically.

“And by adopting more electric and hydrogen vehicles we continue our transition to a low carbon fleet in a managed way, taking further significant steps towards our ambitious target of net zero emissions by 2040.”