The outer isles communities of Hoy and Eday now have their own electric vehicles to provide low-carbon community transport services.
The vehicles replace those already being used by both communities in their on-demand transport services. Community Energy Scotland are proud to have been able to support the residents of Hoy and Eday in securing and delivering the new transport as part of the ReFLEX Orkney project. More information on the project is available on our website here and on the ReFLEX website.
Each community has received two Nissan eNV-200 electric vehicles: one seven seater capacity and the other is a five seater plus wheelchair access. The vehicles have been in use since last summer and been particularly valuable during the coronavirus outbreak.
The vehicles have been put to use alongside the existing community bus, which was running a scheduled service between Longhope and the ferry terminal at Lyness before the pandemic. Since the vehicles were delivered last March they have supported various community activities during lockdown. The vehicles have provided another transport option for those with particular health care needs or with limited mobility as part of the Development Trust’s dial-a-bus service. This has included the delivery of prescriptions and essential supplies to islanders including, but not limited to, those who have been shielding for the duration of the outbreak.
Deborah Jaques, Chair of The Island of Hoy Development Trust
A similar story exists in Eday, where the vehicles have been used by directors and volunteers from the Eday Partnership since June. Services have included food box deliveries, hot meals, parcels, shopping, prescriptions and even school work.
Eday Partnership reaches out to the whole of the island’s community, responding to the needs and interests of local residents. The vehicles allow us to continue playing an active role in supporting and strengthening the local community, while enabling improved mobility, responsiveness and flexibility in delivering these services. Since August, we have been using the vehicles to provide the school bus run, picking up the island’s children. More recently, as part of our wellbeing project, we have been using the vehicles for transporting our residents around the island and this is something that we are looking to make into a regular service. Mobility is a big issue on Eday and now that we have a vehicle that is wheelchair accessible, this really has the potential to improve the lives of our residents.
Mellissa Thomson from The Eday Partnership
Mellisa also added: “At Eday Partnership, we are always looking to how we can best serve the community that we represent, and these vehicles go a great way to help us achieve the aims and objectives of our Development Trust.”
Community group collaboration with Community Energy Scotland as part the ReFLEX Orkney project demonstrates one of the ways that innovative, low-carbon technology can be made available to the public. Now that Hoy and Eday own their own electric vehicles, all local residents can now access low-carbon transport.
The communities were already taking initiative to improve transport and mobility in their communities by working with CES and being part of the ReFLEX project when the pandemic hit. It was really fortunate timing (and thanks to a lot of quick hard work!) to get the first vehicles in before the first lockdown and these last months have really shown what we can do for ourselves as communities with local action and ownership of solutions.
Mark Hull, CES Head of Innovation
Work is underway, led by CES via the ReFLEX project, on both islands to install electric vehicle charge points. Once these are up and running they will be managed by the Hoy Development Trust and the Eday Partnership.
Similar work is also taking place on Shapinsay, where CES is assisting the Shapinsay Development Trust to add to their existing community transport network with a 5 seater Nissan eNV-200 with wheelchair access and upgrade to a smart charger. The Trust operates an on-demand, donation based transport service for Shapinsay residents and community groups.
