Contractor Amey has appointed by Transport for Greater Manchester to expand GMEV, Greater Manchester’s publicly owned electric car charging network.
Amey will oversee the network’s move after six years from a free service, initially advertised as an introductory offer, to a pay-as-you-go model and develop the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) scheme under the new Be.EV brand. The introduction of car charging fees will be used to cover the costs of GMEV to ensure it is sustainable for the future.
TfGM’s partnership with Amey is part of Greater Manchester’s 2040 Transport strategy which aims to improve air quality in the city-region, and help work towards carbon neutrality. Amey will oversee an upgrade of the 120 GMEV car charging points across all 10 boroughs, and install an additional 24 electric vehicle rapid chargers. Car charging points will be supplied with 100% renewable energy by Octopus Energy.
John Faulkner, group strategy and development director of Amey, said:
Amey is keen to work with TfGM to roll out green infrastructure across the region.
“Our aim is to enable Greater Manchester to develop into one of the largest and greenest regional economies in Europe.
“We have put together a consortium with transport technology provider SWARCO and renewable electricity supplier Octopus Energy that delivers technical expertise and a sustainable model for TfGM.
“Innovation and sustainability are at the core of our service as well as tangible social value investment. We want to work in collaboration with local businesses, particularly SMEs and social enterprises.”
Simon Warburton, TfGM transport strategy director, said:
The modernisation and expansion of Greater Manchester’s publicly-owned EV charging network is another step in realising our vision for clean, green, sustainable transport across our region.
“It will support Greater Manchester’s vision to ‘build back better’ as we work to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and is an important step in helping to make our city region one of the best places in the world in which to live and work.”