Words About Things

The Governement’s car and van scrappage scheme was statred last May and proved to be quite popular. The original £300m set aside for the project is due to run out by February although some have said that it may not even last that long.  The scheme offers £2,000 off the price of a new car to customers trading in one at least 10 years old.

At the Labour Party conference Lord Mandleson has pledged to provide funding for another 100,000 cars and vans. This extra investment means that the scheme is likely to last until next February or perhaps sooner if it remains popular. A slight change has been made to the rules of the scheme in regard to used vans. which only need to be 8 years old now rather than 10.

Geneva is the second largest city in Switzerland after Zürich and sits on the bank of the Rhône near to lake Geneva. The cities inhabitants enjoy a high quality of life and Geneva has a reputation as being peaceful and friendly. It is an important financial centre and many Genevans work in the finance industry. The city is compact and welcoming with picturesque views backed by snow capped mountains.

Geneva boasts a wide range of  museums and galleries to cater for most tastes. It is home to the Red Cross Red Crescent Museum and the Palace of Nations, home of the United Nations. The CERN museum of particle physics is an interesting destination for those interested in what is going on underground at the CERN Large Hadron Collider.

Traveling around the city is easy thanks to the network of Buses, Trams and Trolleybuses. Taxis can be hired although like everything in Switzerland they can be expensive for travelers. Car hire in Geneva is an option although bad weather in winter can make driving difficult for those of us from warmer climes. Geneva has good rails links and trips into France and the Swiss countryside can offer a welcome break from the City.

Are electric vans a viable alternative to the traditional white transit? Electric vans have been used to deliver milk for years but are they up to the job of proper commercial vans yet and how ecologically friendly are electric vehicles anyway? Electric vans offer a clear financial benefit over their diesel guzzling counterparts but so far have lacked the range and power needed by the average white-van-man.

The Modec Van was launched in 2007 and is a certified ZEV or Zero Emissions Vehicle. It claims to offer 15p per mile running costs and will be exempt from congestion charges and road tax.

Most electric vehicles can cover around 100 miles per charge which means that their uses are limited until the technology improves. Small scale delivery is not a problem but longer journeys are out of the question. A 50mph speed limit on the Modec Van makes it ideal in inner cities but not suitable for motorway travel. Most van rental companies would expect their customers to cover more than 100 miles.

Electric vehicles may be emission free but creating the electricity isn’t exactly eco-friendly. Most of our electricity comes from burned natural resources which are finite. There are plenty of emissions related to electricity production so whilst the vehicles may be eco friendly but the electricity is not.