Scottish Borders Council and Ubeeqo partnership leads to emissions reduction

Just under a year ago, Scottish Borders Council and Ubeeqo partnered with one another to launch a fully-managed fleet of low-emission vehicles, replacing the former’s previous fleet.

Its 55-car scheme followed a 15-car trial, and over a two-month duration, hybrid hatchbacks and 4x4’s were deployed, with vehicles being placed at 8 different locations.

The new scheme has already enabled Scottish Borders Council to reduce its emissions so significantly that the CO2 savings equated to planting 4,800 trees.

Patrick Cresswell, managing director, Ubeeqo UK, said: “The E-Car scheme at Scottish Borders Council has been a success in more ways than we had anticipated.

“Not only have we been able to help Scottish Borders Council drive down business mileage expenses, but the simple switch to our hybrid vehicles has made a notable positive impact on the Council’s overall carbon footprint.

“The Governments’ 2018 Provisional Figures on UK Greenhouse Gas Emissions, showed that road transport in particular, accounted for almost a third of all carbon dioxide emissions last year.

“With the average vehicle emitting about 4.6 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, switching to low-emission share fleets is an easy way for businesses to reduce their Greenhouse Gas Emissions.”

Within its first sixth months, the company took over 6,500 bookings through its automated booking system, with its cars travelling a combined 290,000 miles.

These 18 hybrid vehicles can be booked by local residents for evenings and weekends.

Recently, Redbridge Council partnered with Ubeeqo to bring car sharing, and reduced emissions to Redbridge streets.

Europcar Mobility Group’s car sharing brand, Ubeeqo, will provide hybrid and electric vehicles for Redbridge residents and businesses, with bookings available from an hour to several days at a time.