Electric cars to use bus lanes in UK cities

London: UK cities are to follow Norway's lead by allowing electric car drivers to beat congestion by using bus lanes, as part of a government drive to encourage uptake of the cleaner cars.

Milton Keynes and Derby will allow the cars to drive in miles of bus lanes, while owners in Hackney will be able to plug in at street lights and York drivers will get to recharge their batteries at a solar-powered park-and-ride.

The schemes were announced by the Department for Transport on Monday as part of a GBP40m pot shared out among eight cities.

Nottingham, Bristol, Milton Keynes and London are the main beneficiaries, but Dundee, Oxford, York, Derby have also won funding.

Electric cars are seen as a key way for the UK to meet its carbon budgets and cut the illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution that blight many British cities.

While still relatively niche compared to combustion engine cars, the number of 100% electric cars registered in 2015 nearly doubled on the year before, to 9,934. Electric vehicles: 20% of car sales

In Norway, incentives including generous tax breaks and allowing electric cars in bus lanes have spurred the cars to now account for nearly one in five of all new cars sold.

Under the UK plans, electric car owners will be able to park for free in Bristol and Milton Keynes, and people in Derby will enjoy discounted parking.

London, which suffers the worst air pollution in the UK, gets the lion's share of the funding. The Go Ultra Low fund will give the capital GBP13m for "neighbourhoods of the future" in several boroughs, where electric cars will be prioritised over other vehicles.

The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin , said: "I want to see thousands more greener vehicles on our roads and I am proud to back this ambition with GBP40m to help the UK become international pioneers of emission-cutting technology."

The government has pledged to continue a long-running electric car grant, however it will decrease in April from the maximum GBP5,000 currently available to GBP2,500-4,500, depending on which models buyers choose. The Guardian