The popularity of electric cars is constantly growing. This is despite many drivers not being completely convinced by the electrically-powered vehicles. However, despite several barriers, Brits bought a record number of EVs this year.
And now, the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is including some of them in their force.
The EEAST is currently trialling two Skodas Enyaq iV 80x and one Vauxhall Vivaro-E van.
The Skodas will be used as rapid response cars.
Their responsibility will be attending to urgent calls such as cardiac arrests.
READ MORE: New petrol station rules see drivers charged £100 at self-service pump
Knowing the range of the emergency vehicles is vital and can vary as they need to have specialist equipment installed, “which does consume energy”.
Mr Abell said: “The east of England is a very diverse geographical area … We know that this technology works very well in urban areas and cities.
“We need to look at how it will work in more rural communities and what is the charging infrastructure and the ways of working that we’re going to need to put in place in order to be able to support this technology moving forward.”
An NHS England grant of £250,000 is helping to fund the trial, including paying for new charging infrastructure, ITV reported.
The ambulance service is installing chargers at its hub sites and is looking to roll it out to smaller stations.
It also has a payment card system that allows charging at commercial charging sites.
Mr Abell said: “The way we work clearly is that we go in and out of hospitals and as part of that our crews will be checking in at stations along the way.
“If we can get the right technology and the right infrastructure in place, that should mean we will be able to keep the vehicles on the road and maximise their up time.”
Mr Abell added he hoped electric ambulances will be trialled in the future.
He said: “Electric vehicle platforms are much more established in a car format.
“Clearly we are starting to see electric vans and electric trucks come onto the market.
“We’re keeping a really close eye on that and hoping we will be able to move on to ambulances in due course.”
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Automobiles News Click Here
