Under 10 per cent of Oldham Council’s vehicle fleet are electric, and nearly a quarter are not up to Clean Air Zone (CAZ) standards.
Just 10 of Oldham council’s 108-strong vehicle fleet are electric, and 25 are not up to CAZ standards, The Oldham Times has learned.
According to data from a Freedom of Information Request, three of the council’s vehicles are up to 2005 diesel emission standards (Euro 4), 22 are up to 2009 diesel standards (Euro 5), and 72 are up to the current 2014 diesel standards (Euro 6).
A further 10 are electric, and one vehicle is petrol.
The fleet, which includes vehicles such as cars, trucks, vans, minivans, and tippers, has some vehicles which were first registered in 2021 – but no electric vehicles have been registered since 2014.
This means that no new electric vehicles have been purchased by the council since eight Nissan Leaf cars and two Nissan electric trucks were purchased from West Way Oldham over seven years ago.
Additionally, 25 of the council’s vehicles would not be up to the now-paused Greater Manchester CAZ standards – meaning the council might have to pay to drive their own vehicles in the borough.
Under the original CAZ plans, before the plans were put on hold, there would be a £60 daily charge for HGVs, buses, and coaches that did not meet Euro 6 standards – and a £10 daily charge for vans that aren’t up to standard.
Manchester leaders now back a non-charging CAZ.
Euro 4 standards, of which there are three vehicles, allow for over three times the amount of harmful NOx to be emitted per kilometre, compared to newer Euro 6 standards.
The Euro 5 standard, of which there are 22 vehicles, allows for over double the amount of NOx than the more modern Euro 6 standard.
Emma Barton, executive director of place and economic growth at Oldham Council, said: “As a Green New Deal Council, Oldham Council is committed to fighting climate change and becoming the greenest borough in Greater Manchester.
“We are working to decarbonise our vehicle fleet by assessing the suitability of alternatively fuelled vehicles as they are being naturally replaced.
“At the same time, balancing value for money and the delivery of high-quality services for residents which these vehicles help us to provide - such as bin collections, highways repairs and street cleaning.
“While we have not bought any electric vehicles since 2014, we are decarbonising as much as we can. For example, our parks teams are using some electrical plant and equipment instead of petrol.
“New fleet vehicles have solar panels where possible, in partnership with local Oldham company Trailar, and our next five waste collection vehicles will have electric bin lifts.
“We continue to work closely with transport advisory groups across Greater Manchester to plan the best way forward as a region, rather than one authority working alone.”
Traditional bin lifts are powered off the vehicle’s engine so draw diesel each time they are used.
Electric bin lifts have a separate battery pack, which powers the bin lifting equipment.
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