THE AMBULANCE service covering Berkshire has introduced electric-powered vehicles to it's ranks recently.
Two Kia e-Niro cars have been added to the South Central Ambulance Services' (SCAS) first response fleet, allowing staff to reach patients quickly and effectively whilst reducing carbon emissions harmful for the environment.
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Charles Porter, Director of Finance at SCAS, said: “I am delighted that these first two fully electric, zero emission emergency response vehicles will shortly be introduced to our operational fleet.
"I would like to thank everyone in the project team for their determination and commitment to delivering this significant step in our strategy to continually reduce our environmental impact.
"As an organisation, we operate over 1,300 vehicles to deliver our services so being able to move to fully electric vehicles will be vital in order to deliver our environmental goals.
"We are key partners in national projects to deliver zero emission emergency vehicle fleets and we are already exploring how we can bring electric vehicles into our emergency ambulance and patient transport service operations.”
Pic: South Central Ambulance Service
The decision to find electric vehicles was made more than 18 months ago, however after testing a variety of electric vehicles the service concluded that the Kia models were best suited for the task.
The cars have a driving range of 282 miles on one full charge - this is well within the 90-100 miles that most emergency vehicles will cover in a 10-hour shift. Charging points are also readily available at a number of ambulance stations and local hospitals so the cars can be 'topped up' with ease.
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Nick Lambert, Head of Education – Driving at SCAS, said: “We tested quite a few electric vehicles and the Kia eNiro came out on top every time as an all-round, versatile option for what we were looking for in our emergency response vehicles.
"Our staff will require extra training before taking the Kia eNiro out on the road. Electric vehicles perform slightly differently from traditional vehicles.
"We’ll need to train staff in how much more responsive they are in terms of acceleration and how to drive using regenerative braking which allows us to regain energy whilst the vehicle is moving to extend its range.”
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