Scottish government provides £30 million to accelerate transport shift to net zero

Credit: Scottish Government

The Scottish Government has announced that it is providing over £30 million this financial year to accelerate the shift to zero-emission transport.

The funding includes support for zero-emission community transport and car clubs, as well as interest free loans for electric vehicles (EVs). Zero-emission car clubs offer communities flexible and affordable access to the latest EVs without the financial commitment of car ownership. Thus, this approach is designed to support more people and households on lower incomes to make the switch to electric.

In order to support a just transition to net zero, funding is now being prioritised to focus on used EVs, businesses and people living in rural areas, those operating light commercial vehicles as part of their business and the taxi sector.

By continuing funding for the Plugged In Communities programme and expanding funding for zero-emission community transport, more people will be able to access the benefits of zero-emission transportation, while at the same time supporting the Scottish government’s car reduction and climate commitments.

Scottish government awards £62 million for zero-emission buses

Over the last 10 years, the Scottish government grant funding has:

• Provided over £165 million of interest free loans to support the purchase of over 6,100 vehicles
• Provided over £4.9 million to support the installation of over 16,000 home charging points across Scotland
• Provided over £10 million to deliver 1,500 charging points to businesses
• Established 38 car club vehicles with another 16 planned, with vehicles covering over 400,000 zero-emission miles across Scotland

This incentivisation funding is separate to the £50 million investment over the same period to establish 2,200 public EV charging points. A separate £47 million has also been invested to introduce 3,450 vehicles into the public sector fleet.

“Whether it’s electric miles or petrol miles, we know we need to reduce car kilometres by 20 per cent across the board to meet our climate targets. Coupled with continued support for zero-emission car clubs, I’m pleased we’re expanding support for community transport schemes. This will help eliminate the need for individual car ownership and ensure it’s not just the wealthiest in society who can benefit from modern EVs,” said Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth. “Our funding package of over £30 million for zero-emission grants and loans will be refocused to support the many people and businesses, particularly in rural areas, who still require access to vehicles. By providing interest free loans for used electric cars and for new light commercial vehicles and taxis, we continue to support our ambition to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030.”