Boris Johnson has authorised deep cuts to an electric cars scheme which he launched last year to great fanfare, promising to make London the “electric car capital of the world“. The mayor had promised to introduce 100,000 electric cars and build 25,000 charging points thanks to his “unprecedented package of measures”.
But Mr Johnson only promised to find £20m of the £60m package, with the rest dependent on a decision from central government. Now he is cutting that £20m contribution to just £7m, leaving a void which he hopes to fill with corporate sponsorship – similar to the £25m deal by Barclays to be the face of the cycle hire scheme.
Tony Bosworth, transport campaigner for Friends of the Earth, said that electric cars would play a vital role in cutting emissions in the future and it was important for local government to back such schemes. “The mayor did make a big noise about this project, he must now make sure that funding is found to keep the plan alive.”
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey
