Workstream #2 - Travel and transport
2.1: There are now 14 electric refuse collection vehicles operational. The remaining 13 are expected by the end of November 2021.
2.2: A further 9 electric vehicles (EVs) were added to the fleet this quarter (8 vans and 1 people carrier) as part of the rolling replacement programme, bringing the total to 35 EV’s and 3 hybrid vehicles. 201 vehicles currently have an electric equivalent meaning that 19% of the fleet is now electric. There are 22 specialist heavy goods vehicles in the fleet, for which there is currently no non-ICE (Internal Combustion Engines) alternative on the market. The number of vehicles in the fleet commonly fluctuates by +/-5% depending on service need.
A bid to the Energy Savings Trust’s eCargo Bike Local Authority Scheme was successful. An award of £173K will provide 26 eCargo bikes and six eCargo trailers. A number will form part of the Council’s operational fleet as well as supporting the two universities and five VCSE organisations along with a ‘bike library’ for short-term lease.
2.3: The Sustainable Travel Policy has undergone a process of review and will be presented to the Personnel Committee on 20 October. As a result of the work on the policy, a car club vehicle is now available at Etrop Court, Wythenshawe and messages to encourage active travel are included in all staff communication channels.
2.4: The Council has secured £325K funding from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Active Travel Capability Fund, to produce an Active Travel Strategy and develop potential schemes. Business cases are being worked up.
A submission was made via Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to the DfT Active Travel Fund Round 3 for £4.4m to fund improvements to Alan Turing Way, High St/Fountain St traffic free streets and Medlock St scheme development. Two of our development asks have been deprioritised: £350k for Wythenshawe and £1.25m for Oldham Rd.
2.5: In September, TfGM, on behalf of the 10 Greater Manchester districts, submitted a bid to Government for a 5-year transport funding settlement under the £4.2bn Intra-city Transport Fund. The bid contains a range of schemes for active and public transport infrastructure in Manchester and will support the reduction of carbon emissions from transport.
The Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan was approved by the 10 Greater Manchester districts in July.
The Council is continuing to roll out EV charging infrastructure as funding becomes available, including through the Greater Manchester Clean Air Plan taxi charging and Government's On-Street Residential ChargePoint Scheme. Following input from the districts, TfGM launched a draft Greater Manchester EV Charging Infrastructure Strategy in September.
Beryl was chosen as the preferred supplier for the Greater Manchester Cycle Hire scheme. The Council is working with TfGM and Beryl to approve the locations for ~35 docking stations along the Oxford Road Corridor. The first bicycles and docking stations will be seen along Oxford Road during next quarter.
In July, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) announced the first stage of a minimum licensing standards for Greater Manchester taxis. This covers vehicle emission standards of Euro IV for petrol engines and Euro VI for diesel from 2021, with a road map to reducing harmful vehicles emissions and the aim of a zero-emission capable fleet by 2029. This will support the city regions Clean Air Plan.
2.7: Manchester Airport Group (MAG) was listed in the Financial Times Europe Climate Leaders as one of 300 companies that achieved the greatest reduction in their greenhouse gas emissions intensity between 2014 - 2019. This takes account of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions i.e. those directly produced by the company and those produced in generating the energy used by the company.
MAG is part of the UK Government 'Jet Zero' group. A consultation was launched in July 2021 ahead of the development of a Jet Zero Strategy.
2.8: Regular messages about discounted public transport tickets are being communicated through staff bulletins. Cycle September is also being promoted and prizes for Council staff have been secured from TfGM. A review of Council cycle facilities is underway.