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Government should aid green schemes
Page 7
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GOVERNMENTS SHOULD do more to help truck manufacturers introduce environmentally-friendly technologies, according to Ian Jones, UK managing director of MercedesBenz commercial vehicles.
Jones made the appeal as Royal Mail, Amey, DHL, Hill Hire, Ringway, Scottish and Southern. Tesco and TNT announced they will trial the company's Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid vehicles in London over the next three years (see page 16).
Jones says the global truck manufacturer was forced to invest 11.5m to convert the diesel-electric 7.5-tonne Canters to European Euro-4 standards, after requests to legislators for permission to operate the trucks using the Japanese Euro-4 equivalent proved unsuccessful.
About 300 Canter Eco Hybrids are already in service in Japan. He adds: "FranIdy, that money could have been better spent on supporting other environmental programmes. As we all know, it is difficult to establish any governmental support for those environmental projects. But I am not talking about specific sums allocated to individual projects. I am talking about creating an environment in which real partners can invest and see an appropriate return."
Jones says governments can also help by removing congestion charges, stabilising fuel duty, encouraging alternative fuels and freeing up bus lanes for green vehicles.