Leeds will be one of the first cities with new electric Royal Mail vans
Leeds has been selected as one of the first cities in the UK to trial electric Royal Mail vans, with the aim of cutting emissions.
The Royal Mail is trialling the use of the new vans for parcel and letter deliveries.
The company is partnering with the London Electric Vehicle Company to trial its new VN5 prototype electric van, based on a London taxi cab.
Trials will be held over the next six months on delivery rounds in largely urban areas of Leeds, Birmingham, Derby, Edinburgh and Bristol.
London Electric Vehicle Company is trialling the vehicle with 25 companies ahead of the official launch of its new VN5 electric van later this year.
Paul Gatti, fleet director at Royal Mail said: “We are committed to making changes to our operations that reduce our environmental impact, whilst ensuring we continue to meet customer expectations.
“Alongside the introduction of electric vans in locations across our business, this trial is part of a programme of initiatives that allow us to experiment with ways to achieve this, whilst enabling us to continue to deliver letters and parcels safely, efficiently and responsibly.”