Could we be Seeing Green Number Plates on our Roads?

The design and colour of number plates is highly controlled and very rarely do we see any changes to the plate system or the style of our plates. However, in the near future, we might begin to see green number plates on our roads!

These special green number plates would be fitted to ‘green’ zero-emission electric vehicles in order to make these cars instantly recognisable in order for local authorities to easily issue incentives to these environmentally friendly cars.

What benefits might be on available?

In an effort to encourage more people to change to zero-emission vehicles, a range incentives may become available that will be purely for drivers of cars with the green number plate that proves the green credentials of the vehicle. So what benefits may there be? Will they be tempting enough to encourage those drivers who have always driven a petrol or diesel car to make the leap to electric?

The benefits offered will likely differ depending on where you live and nothing is yet certain, the scheme may never be put into practice at all, but there have been several ideas discussed. One idea is to offer free parking for zero-emission vehicles. This could theoretically save drivers a lot of money if they regularly pay to park, and this could certainly be a deciding factor in opting for an electric vehicle for some. Another idea is to allow electric vehicles to use bus lanes, which are currently prohibited for use by any vehicles other than buses. However, CPT UK, the trade body for the bus and coach industry has issued a strong statement against this idea. They believe that the bus infrastructure is already in need of further investment and development and that allowing vehicles to use the bus lanes will cause extra congestion and delays for bus passengers.

Is this incentive enough?

Friends of the Earth believe this type of incentive simply doesn’t go far enough to encourage change when that change is a costly one. We put a lot of thought and a lot of money into buying our vehicles. We don’t want to make a mistake and so we often opt for that with which we are familiar. Friends of the Earth have stated that simply offering some minor incentives such as free parking, will not convince many people to change to electric vehicles until the cost of electric vehicles is on a par with similar vehicles with petrol or diesel engines, and when there are more charging points along our highways.

That’s all we know for now, but we’ll keep you informed if we hear anything further about these proposals.