Police Scotland and First Bus team up to keep electric vehicles on the road

Officers using the force’s electric vehicles can now access 12 ultra rapid chargers within the First Bus depot in the city’s King Street.

Newly delivered marked vehicles available to North East officers can be fully charged in as little as 25 minutes, while the batteries on unmarked cars can be restored to maximum charge in one hour.

Police Scotland said the extended charging network will enable the division to “accelerate its adoption of more unmarked vehicles”.

It is currently on track to have around 90 per cent of its unmarked fleet as ultra-low emission vehicles in the near future.

Aberdeen area commander, Chief Inspector Darren Bruce, said: “This partnership is a huge step forward for Aberdeen in regards to partnership working, and nationally, for Police Scotland in contributing to reducing our C02 output.

“This collaboration demonstrates that Police Scotland that we are at the forefront of having a modern, energy efficient fleet that can now be charged and deployed effectively from the heart of our city.

Ryan Sorley, First Bus Scotland commercial development manager, said: “We are delighted to be expanding our electric vehicle charging partnership with Police Scotland to include our King Street depot in Aberdeen.

“The partnership continues to demonstrate the power that comes with working together to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality in the communities we both serve.

“At First Bus, we are committed to delivering cleaner, greener journeys across our UK networks, not only through our own fleet but by working in partnership with organisations such as Police Scotland.”

Police Scotland’s Fleet Strategy has committed to creating the UK’s first ultra-low emission blue light fleet by the year 2030.

After 18 months of testing and evaluation, the first marked cars, Volkswagen ID4s are now being rolled out, including in the North East division. These will be closely followed by marked cell vans.