A community-led electric car club in rural Leicestershire is helping residents access transport while cutting emissions, but the need for such volunteer schemes highlights wider challenges in the UK's transition to sustainable transport, experts say.
The Tilton electric car club, launched in 2023 by local energy group Green Fox with funding from Motability and Harborough District Council, provides two electric vehicles (EVs) for hourly or daily hire. Volunteer drivers also assist residents who can no longer drive. Organiser Miriam Stoate, a regenerative farmer, said the scheme has improved mobility and fostered community bonds.
Transport remains the UK's largest source of carbon emissions, responsible for about 25% of the annual total. While EV sales jumped 59% in April and now account for around a quarter of new car sales, experts warn that industry lobbying threatens progress. Anna Krajinska of Transport and Environment urged the government to uphold the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires all new cars sold by 2035 to be EVs, and to avoid allowing more polluting plug-in hybrids.
Chris Hayes of the Common Wealth thinktank said decades of underinvestment and privatisation have left UK rail and bus services expensive and unreliable, with passengers paying three times more per kilometre than in other countries. He called for integrated, publicly owned services that prioritise communities over shareholder profits.
Doug Parr of Greenpeace UK acknowledged progress but warned of 'a long road ahead' to achieve a sustainable, affordable transport system that meets the UK's climate targets.
