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London Electric Car Scheme

London has begun to take its air quality seriously amid concerns that it could face an EU fine of £250m if it fails to meet certain standards.

Paris has made the news in recent weeks for the smog that has blighted the city. Paris in particular has problems with air quality and congestion and turned to some radical solutions to kerb the problem. Public transport was made free for a certain period, and only cars with odd numbers featuring on their number plates were allowed on the roads.

London also needs visionary solutions. One proposal due to be implemented shortly is to mirror Paris' point-to-point car sharing scheme.

Since 2011 Paris has gained a large fleet of electric Autolib vehicles. You can use these cars if you sign up for the monthly subscription and then pay a reasonable fee every time you use the vehicle.

London's equivalent scheme is being pioneered by the Bolloré group. The group will increase the number of charging points in the capital from 1,400 (current) to 6,000 by 2018. This could have a huge impact on how we view electric cars. It's proposed that you'll pay £10 a month subscription and £5 for every half hour you hire the car. Unlike many other services, this 'point-to-point' scheme, means that you don't have to return the car to where you picked it up.

Hertz rent a car is also pioneering an electric travel scheme, which could be more suited to the casual user. Their fleet of Electric Drive vehicles is exempt from the Congestion Charge, and has access to Hertz's 16 charging stations. Cars are available from their Marble Arch branch.

Another intriguing example of London's push to become electric is the Ecoigo 'car service' which uses electric cars to taxi customers around the capital. The venture began with a fleet of Toyota Prius'. It has since grown into a major player in the public travel stakes, with a more diverse fleet of electric vehicles. Ecoigo is cheaper than catching a black cab and it's environmentally friendly.

London could go a long way in become a greener city if it pushed the use of electric taxi services. The main sources of pollution in the city seem to be taxis, vans, and trucks, with the emissions from the latter two being difficult to avoid.

The schemes might drive a broader movement towards electric cars with more charging points. This is as well as increased consumer demand for green vehicles which would be pushed into the mainstream.

It's always going to be difficult to tackle congestion, but a broad network of electric cars could be a strong selling point for London's vision of an 'ideas economy'.

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