Salary sacrifice car scheme provider Tusker has given Salford City Council free use of a Nissan Leaf for a year to promote green travel among employees.

This is part of a programme which has seen Tusker supply 10 Nissan Leafs to customers around the country to improve the perception of electric vehicles.

Salford City Council already runs a salary sacrifice scheme operated by Tusker to help staff drive new, fully maintained low emission cars as part of its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.

Salford is fast becoming a leading area for electric car use, as figures show that last year a quarter of all electric car charges in Greater Manchester were carried out in Salford.

City Mayor Ian Stewart said: “We’re very grateful to Tusker for lending this car to our staff. It will help spread the word about the benefits of green travel as well as saving the council money on work related mileage expenses.

“We’re keen to encourage more use of green travel, from electric cars to walking, cycling and public transport and this car will give our staff practical experience of the benefits of electric vehicles.”

Salford has 18 electric vehicle charging stations, with capacity for 35 vehicles. The Greater Manchester Electric Vehicle (GMEV) scheme is managed by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

At the moment all the GMEV charge points can be used for free and fast chargers take approximately three to four hours to fully charge a car.