JAN 2011 : GO PLANT GOES ELECTRIC
Go Plant Ltd has taken delivery of its first Goupil G3 electric cage tipper for evaluation trials within London via its vehicle rental and contract hire division, GPL Hire. The future of municipal vehicles is very much green. With the overall running costs of fossil-fuelled vehicles rapidly spiralling upwards, local authorities and fleet operators are increasingly looking to procure low-emission alternatives in a drive to improve sustainability and save on overheads.
For local authorities in the nation’s capital, there is an added incentive to ‘go green’. As the next phase in the London Low Emission Zone comes into force on 3 January 2012, operators either need to adapt existing vehicles via exhaust modifications or replace older non-compliant vehicles with new ‘greener’ models.
GPL set out with a target of reducing emissions and helping their contract partners to meet legislative requirements. Following an extensive market review of Alternative Fuelled Vehicles and their utilisation within the municipal vehicle sector; GPL Hire has purchased a Goupil G3 electric utility vehicle to join their short term hire fleet. GPL Hire, the contract hire and short term rental division of Go Plant Ltd, purchased the Goupil electric vehicle as part of their commitment to procuring low emission vehicles to help customers reduce their carbon footprint. GPL Hire intend to use the study and Goupil trial to highlight to customers where it is viable to introduce alternatively fuelled vehicles into a local authority operation to cut CO2 emissions and reduce fuel & maintenance expenditure.
The Goupil G3, a small 1.7T, LWB Cage Tipper, has been on trial to establish the ‘real world’ operational benefits and drawbacks of utilising electric vehicles within a busy operating environment where it is primarily utilised in residential and green space areas.
Other local authorities within the Greater London Area have also investigated the use of electric vehicles on cleansing operations following the Mayor of London’s commitment to invest in electric vehicle infrastructure and the launch of the Cenex LCVPP. The vehicles are typically operated during unsociable hours and within street markets where narrow access and low noise levels are important operational concerns. Operators of electric vehicles benefit from £0 road fund licensing, no operator license requirements on larger vehicles, full compliance with the low emission zone regulations and a £0 congestion charge.
The model of Goupil selected by GPL Hire is the G3 long wheel base Cage Tipper with lead acid traction cells that provide the vehicle with a range of approximately 80km between charges and a maximum operating speed of 40km/h (25mph). The battery pack contains twenty four individual 2v lead acid traction cells which can be replaced singularly when required, this minimises battery maintenance and replacement expenditure. The Goupil is charged overnight at the end of the working day at a cost of approximately £1.40 and the water levels are checked and topped up every 2 days using the central battery filling point. Overall, the maintenance requirements of the vehicle are minimal and lifetime cost savings can be made through reduced maintenance expenditure and fuel cost. The LWB vehicle has a GVW of 1710kg and is capable of carrying a payload of 600kg. Being only 1100mm wide it is ideally suited to narrow streets, pedestrian areas and ground care environments.
GPL Hire are offering the current vehicle for rental at a competitive rate starting at £110 per week. For further information regarding the hire of the electric utility vehicle or for alternatively fuelled vehicle contract hire quotations please contact Paul Johnson at GPL Hire.
Email: pjohnson@gpl-hire.co.uk
Tel. 01604 597790.
Website: www.go-plant.co.uk
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