The company has begun testing two electric vans in Milton Keynes and two in East London and plans to roll them out more widely across its fleet of 23,400 vehicles upon the completion of the pilot program.
BT’s fleet management division has converted two Peugeot and two Ford vehicles in collaboration with Allied Electric and Smith Electric Vehicles and will test them for a number of things, including suitability for engineers’ work patterns, battery life and energy usage.
The electric vans have been designed to cover up to 100 miles between battery charges, provide a restricted top speed of 70 miles per hour and offer the same payload capabilities as an equivalent diesel vehicle, but without the tailpipe emissions.
In addition to Milton Keynes that is piloting charging points for electric vehicles, BT will test electric vans at Openreach’s Stratford telephone exchange and nearby 2012 Olympic Village.
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