Petrol and diesel cars to be forced off road in 20 ‘electric towns’
MILLIONS of drivers are set to suffer under plans to give preferential treatment to electric cars in towns and cities across Scotland.
Plug-in vehicles will have access to priority lanes and free parking while petrol and diesel drivers become second-class citizens.
Plans to create 20 ‘electric towns’ were included in the small print of Nicola Sturgeon’s new Programme for Government.
It is a £40 million scheme aimed at helping the First Minister – who cannot drive and is chauffeur-driven at taxpayers’ expense – hit her target of phasing out petrol and diesel cars by 2032.
Councils have been invited to bid for funding of between £1.5 million and £2.5 million to transform their area over the next two years.
The first window for bids has closed and five areas will soon be chosen to receive the first £10 million.
They will have promised to radically increase the number of charging points available, to be more attractive to plug-in vehicle drivers – which is bad news for the 99 per cent of drivers without electric cars.
Transport Scotland guidance for its Switched on Towns and Cities Challenge Fund sets out how councils applying for cash would be expected to ‘incentivise, encourage and promote the use of EVs [electric vehicles]’.
Applicants are advised to ‘expand the provision of publicly available EV infrastructure’ and introduce ‘EV-friendly districts within a town or city’.
There should also be new ‘infrastructure to enable incentivised car parking (and) use of restricted lanes’, or a ‘management system for free parking’. It is recommended an ‘EV car club’ be set up with benefits to members. The proposals will also affect businesses. Housebuilders will be expected to include charging points in new developments.
There will be special ‘EV taxi ranks’, putting them at an advantage over gas-guzzling rivals.
And people living in tenements can expect major changes as Transport Scotland wants to prioritise ideas that allow for charging outside blocks of flats. The documents warn that radical change is needed to hit green targets and improve the quality of air in built-up areas.
The guidance states: ‘As well as greenhouse gases, road transport, particularly diesel vehicles, contributes significantly to air quality issues.
‘Tackling road transport emissions is important in order to meet Scotland’s climate change targets as well as improving the air quality in towns and cities.’
The Scottish Government has pledged to phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2032.
There were only 166,000 electric cars in the UK last month, according to the Next Green Car website. That compares with 31.3 million cars registered, according to the RAC. It means electric cars account for about 0.5 per cent of the total.
Scottish Tory environment spokesman Donald Cameron said: ‘We can’t be left with a situation where the lives of motorists driving petrol and diesel cars are made a misery. This has to be done in collaboration with people who rely on cars for work and leisure, not in a way that discriminates against them.’
Neil Greig, director of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: ‘Electric cars are very expensive. It’s people at the top end who are going to benefit from this. It subsidises people who can afford to run an electric car.’
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: ‘We will expand the scope of our initiative to create at least 20 electric towns or cities by 2025. Electric towns and cities will receive substantial funding to support a step-change in electric vehicle uptake.’
‘People at the top end are going to benefit’
MOTORISTS have long been easy prey for politicians with an instinct to levy taxes. Whether it’s road tax, excessive parking charges or sky-high duty on fuel, drivers are powerless to escape the grasp of the revenue man.
To add insult to injury, those who pay the most for their petrol and diesel now face being discriminated against.
Meanwhile, an elite few are to be given preferential treatment.
Under plans from the Scottish Government, those who can afford electric cars are to be given exclusive access to priority lanes along with free parking in towns and cities.
Effectively, anyone still driving a petrol or diesel powered vehicle will be turned into a second class of motorist, punished for their failure to own new, hi-tech cars.
This is a deeply unfair proposal. And Ministers should put the brakes on it, right now.