An Early Start in Bethesda for the EV Cymru Rally

In 2019 Wales was the first country in the world to declare a climate emergency and in 2023 Welsh Government set up Climate Action Wales to better communicate and engage with the population around the subject.  

Transport is the third largest carbon emitter in Wales and Climate Action Wales is keen to communicate how adapting or changing our travel behaviour can contribute to not only reducing the emissions but also another host of benefits like improving air quality, saving money and enhancing our health and wellbeing overall.  

Huw at Partneriaeth Ogwen invited me to be a spectator at the EV Cymru Rally as their community hub was a check point for the cars taking part.  The EV Rally brought together Welsh Government, Transport for Wales, public and private sector organisations to explore how we can deliver a more sustainable transport system for Wales.  Partneriaeth Ogwen was the ideal check point as their fleet of five community transport vehicles is all electric and one of their main focuses as a social enterprise is the environment.  

The rally had begun in Cardiff the day before and travelled through Wales to finish in Bangor. The following day Partneriaeth Ogwen was their first check point before they began their journey south again. There were a total of 30 vehicles from a variety of different manufacturers in the rally covering 500 miles each and the EV Rally was about highlighting the viability of electric vehicles and seeing how the charging infrastructure worked across the country.  

The event at Canolfan Cefnfaes, the community hub was attended by Ynni Ogwen Cyf , the local school, trustees and staff of Partneriaeth Ogwen showing just how much climate action is at the forefront of everything they do. The school pupils were shown the new car that had been delivered the day before by TrydaNi and will be part of the car club scheme co-ordinated by Partneriaeth Ogwen for the community. 

Some of the rally teams spent time with the pupils explaining to them what the purpose of the rally was. I spoke to Ian who volunteers his time to Partneriaeth Ogwen around ev’s. He had been one of the first owners of an electric car in 2011 where the range was 80 miles. He recognises the huge transformation around the whole industry in the last 15 years and is extremely passionate about ensuring it keeps moving forwards.  

Huw said he had invited some pupils from the local school to the rally as it is important to keep the next generation involved – they are the ones who will take it forwards. It also gave Partneriaeth Ogwen opportunity to showcase their community transport fleet to people from outside the area. 

Welsh operators are certainly leading the way around being part of the climate action conversation!