Help
The Met’s footprint’s getting smaller
| Published: 27th April 2009 13:20 |
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is to explore the use of more alternative fuel vehicles like the electric Smartcar
The Met's Transport Services are exploring options to run
vehicles in the MPS fleet on alternative fuels
With a fleet strength of around 8600 vehicles, the MPS has one of the largest fleets in the UK and is committed to trying out new innovations in fuel technology. With an increasing focus on limiting carbon emissions, emerging technology that dramatically cuts harmful emissions is becoming more attractive to motorists and fleet managers.
The Met has entered into a commitment to use more sustainable energy sources. The MPS Environmental Vision, created in 2005, sets out the corporate objective: "To make London the safest major city in the world, through the operation of a sustainable police service where environmental issues are embedded in the decision making process."
London consumes as much energy in a year as the whole of Greece and it is estimated that the MPS emits around 75,000 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide per annum, which includes our energy use as well as transport. As a public service we have a social responsibility to reduce our emissions as well complying with national targets set by government and more local initiatives such as the Mayor of London's Air Quality scheme.
Examining the existing fleet of response vehicles, the current BMW 5-Series area car emits 178g/km (grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre driven), the Vauxhall Vectra 176g/km and the Mitsubishi Shogun 251g/km.
The Met, and in particular Transport Services have made good progress in integrating a more environmental outlook. There are already over 100 Hybrid cars in use across the Met. The Toyota Prius is being used for local patrol, transport duties and supporting Safer Neighbourhood Teams. Hybrid cars still run on petrol, but by using regenerative braking technology, kinetic energy created by braking is stored in batteries that run an electric motor to power the engine, therefore increasing efficiency.
Recent advances in engine technology has created the possibility of using cars running purely on compressed air. Although in early stages of development, the potential to run a car engine without the need for combustion would completely remove the necessity of petrol or diesel fuel.
Air cars use the expansion of the compressed air to drive their pistons. Refuelling would be straightforward too, filling up at current service stations using a modified version of air pumps currently used to inflate tyres. It could be quite some time before we see a car in the MPS fleet using this technology but research is already underway.
The MPS has also been taking part in a market trial of electric powered cars since June last year. Four Smart EDs have been used across London supporting operations and providing transport solutions. ED stands for electric drive and the cars are charged using a standard three-pin plug. An eight hour charge provides the car with a range of 70 miles. The car emits no carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydro-carbons or particulate matter.
Two of the Smart EDs are in police livery and one can be spotted in the West End, working from Charing Cross Police Station, the other supporting CO18 at Heathrow Airport.
Operations Inspector Ian Wheelerdescribes the benefits: "Its used by the permanent night duty team which tends to deal with violent crime and public disorder in central London, so its on the front line, going to the scenes of crime. Because of its small size it can negotiate congested streets easier than regular patrol vehicles. It's incredibly quiet, with no emissions whatsoever, so this car's perfect for use in a densely populated area like the centre of London."
Nigel Jakubowski, Director of Transport Services said: "We are a year into the trials of the electric smart cars and I am pleased to say that they continue to perform very well and have been well received by the people that use them. London is perfect for alternative fuels such as electric or hybrid vehicles, Policing a unique city such as London brings its own particular challenges and we are always interested in trying out new innovations and ideas and working alongside manufacturers. We'll be trialling more electric vehicles in the near future and are also exploring other alternatively fuelled vehicles."
Report this article as inappropriate
Comments
You need to log in before you can do that! It's only a quick registration process to join the AMA network and completely free.
Loading...
Help