The Metropolitan Police has announced it will add 250 electric or hybrid vehicles and motorcycles to its fleet in the next year in order to help reduce pollution in the capital.
Since late 2015 the Met has stopped buying diesel fuel, and the force claimed it is leading the way in the police sector to reduce pollution and make its fleet as clean as possible while maintaining operational capacity.
The move to go electric comes as 700 vehicle contracts in the force’s fleet are up for renewal this year, and follows on from a six-month trial of BMW i3s, which were used as rapid response vehicles in the London Boroughs of Westminster, Greenwich and Bexley.
At the time of the i3 trial in June 2016, the Met claimed it was the first police force to use a range-extender vehicle in its fleet.
As well as electric vehicles, Jiggs Bharij, head of fleet for the Met, said it was also considering taking on vehicles powered by hydrogen.
“We have an ambition to deploy 250 alternatively-powered cars, vans and motorcycles on the road within the next 12 months. To support this we need to make sure that there are charging points available and that the vehicles are capable of carrying and powering additional police equipment which enables officers and members of the public to remain safe at the scene of an incident,” Bharij added.
