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22 The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust at a glance The London Ambulance Service covers an area of around 620 square miles (approx. 1600 square kilometres) from Heathrow in the west to Upminster in the east and from Enfield in the north to Purley in the south across the whole of London: an emergency medical service for almost nine million people living in London, as well as visitors and commuters. It operates 64 ambulance stations and five sectoral centres across London. Was the decision in favour of a new ve- hicle concept with an electric drive a major change for the emergency services? The decision to convert the fleet was not a spontaneous one. After more than 15 years with the same design and layout, the fundamental modernisation was necessary in order to conti- nue to comply with current standards and meet our own high demands. We have already made sure to be in close dialo- gue with representatives of the rescue crews and to incorpo- rate their experiences into the planning. Apart from that, the conversion of our vehicles with combustion engines was, so to speak, an intermediate step in the transition to e-mobility. The crew were able to familiarise themselves with the new de- sign before they were introduced to the electric version. After a short training session on the vehicles’ energy management, the crews were ready to go. What was the feedback from the teams after their first missions with the new emergency vehicles? Getting used to something new is a challenge for most people, so we had to win a few hearts and minds in advance, but the new concept quickly proved convincing in practice. The teams are getting used to it and recognising the benefits, especially in terms of the new working methods. They realise that this is a quality product. And what was it like when the e-ambulances were introduced? That still makes us smile today, because the initial general opi- nion was that it worked better than expected. So there was some resentment beforehand, but the e-ambulance proved its worth. We used the e-ambulance for a 24-hour shift and it came back with a charge level of 20 %. That naturally inspires confidence. The crews are also enthusiastic about the dyna- mic and quiet driving characteristics. Have these positive experiences led to a rethink? Yes, indeed they have. One of the main lessons learnt is that we in the rescue service should stop talking about range when it comes to e-ambulances. For us, it‘s not about how far a vehicle can travel in one go. For us, the question is: can the e-ambulance cover a shift? We can answer that very clearly with “yes”. What does the future hold for e-ambulan- ces at LAS and in the rest of the country? The model will not yet work in rural areas, but according to an analysis, it would still work for over 50 % of all journeys. We are continuing to work on expanding the infrastructure. We have already identified 45 locations for 20 kW charging and are in the process of equipping others for fast charging with 50 kW or more. Where no charging stations can be installed, charging containers for trickle charging and a DC charging station are one solution. We are already in contact with com- panies about this. If we can drive electrically, we will. Our goal is zero emissions as quickly as possible.