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As you can see in the image to the right, St. Albans train station now has two charging points solely for electric vehicles and it won't be long until more are needed! Newly-released data from the Department for Transport shows that electric vehicles in St. Albans are on the rise, from 269 in the first quarter of 2017, to 409 in the first quarter of 2018; a growth of 140 vehicles. A massive increase for a such a short span of time.
In 2013 there were just SIX electric cars in the entirety of St. Albans, showing how fast the electric car industry is growing.
Chris Howells, electric vehicle business development manager for the Glyn Hopkin Nissan dealership in St Albans, is confident of further growth due to high carbon emissions in commuter towns. He said “The majority of councils across the UK have got a very real problem with high, or in some cases dangerously high carbon emission problems, so it’s in their interest to be seen to be doing something about it. I feel it is everyone’s responsibility to make a difference to the environment that we live in.”
With levels in St Albans reaching reaching 4.3 tonnes in 2015, as councils, it's no surprise that local businesses and other organisations are embracing the green revolution.
St Albans Green Party councillor, Simon Grover, commended the growing use of electric cars, however believes that the government’s efforts to apply the transition from petrol to renewables has been “slow” and “not adequate”.
Cllr Grover added "if the government wanted to make a lasting environmental impact, they should create a more stringent tax system, which adequately taxes cars using non-renewable resources as fuel, and subsidises those cars which run on renewables."
Cllr summed it up with a final sentence, "Electric cars are not the answer, but part of it.”